SAPinsider Feed (Channel Roadmap and Strategy)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Feeds/Channels/Roadmap-and-Strategy
Syndicates SAPinsider Roadmap-and-Strategy-related assets including case studies, blogs, white papers, webinars, Q & A sessions, and newsUtility Digital Transformation Through Analyticshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2018/February/Dell-EMC-smart-utilities
<p>Industry experts from Dell EMC, Navigant, and Intel join SAPinsider's Ken Murphy for a podcast that explores drivers and reasons for utilities to embrace analytics in a digital transformation.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:30:19 GMTSAP Basis & Administration Collection 2018http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2018/January/Admin-eBook
7 articles to help you better utilize, manage, and secure SAP landscapes on-premise and in the cloudFri, 12 Jan 2018 14:03:31 GMTMigrating to the Newest Version of SAP Lumirahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2018/January/migrating-to-the-newest-version-of-SAP-Lumira
Abhishek Jain and Sandeep Khare from TekLink will share advice on mapping your migration path from SAP Lumira 1.X and SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio 1.X to the newest version of SAP Lumira.Wed, 10 Jan 2018 23:28:00 GMTAn Introduction to SAP Data Hubhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2018/January/Marc-Hartz-on-SAP-Data-Hub
<p>Marc Hartz, SAP Data Hub Product Manager, joins SAPinsider for a podcast to discuss SAP's new DataOps management solution.</p>Mon, 08 Jan 2018 19:20:04 GMTTransition to SAP S/4HANA Financehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/December/transition-to-SAP-S4HANA-Finance
<p>Join Quality Systems & Software’s Mitresh Kundalia for a Live Q&A on the various considerations associated with a migration, implementation, or upgrade to SAP S/4HANA Finance.</p>Tue, 12 Dec 2017 20:44:00 GMTSAP BI and SAP HANA Collection 2018http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/December/BI-HANA-eBook
12 articles to help you better utilize, manage, and run SAP BI and SAP HANA solutions.Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:57:59 GMTNavigate the Complexities of Big Data with SAP Vorahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/December/Big-Data-and-SAP-Vora
<p>Join this upcoming live Q&A to learn more about how SAP Vora helps democratize data access in order to help you make better business decisions.</p>Wed, 06 Dec 2017 15:20:00 GMTDriving New Business Value with IoThttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2017/December/driving-new-business-value-with-IoT
<P>Interview with IoT expert Maribel Lopez on how an IoT connected device strategy benefits manufacturers.</p>Fri, 01 Dec 2017 23:30:11 GMTA Roadmap to the Digital Retailing Erahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2017/November/a-roadmap-to-the-digital-retailing-era
<p><br /> </p> <p>The authors of "Retail 2020: A Roadmap to the Digital Retailing Era" join SAPinsider for a podcast to discuss how retailers can create a solid foundation for IoT data collection and processing.</p>Fri, 10 Nov 2017 20:42:46 GMTAccelerate your digital transformation: Low cost, low risk SAP application migration testing on Amazon Web Services (AWS)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/November/Accelerate-your-digital-transformation-with-SAP-application-migration-testing-on-AWS
Join us to learn how you can provision test servers and build SAP applications on Amazon Web Services to quickly determine the scope of the effort and the business impact of your database migration before you initiate a full project.&nbsp;<br />Wed, 08 Nov 2017 15:58:31 GMTThe Road to SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/November/road-to-SAP-S4HANA
<p>Join SAP's Matt Makaila and Carl Dubler for a live Q&A to learn more about the path to SAP S/4HANA for your company and tools you can use.</p>Wed, 08 Nov 2017 15:26:27 GMTRetail 2020: A Roadmap to the Digital Retailing Erahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/October/A-Roadmap-to-the-Digital-Retailing-Era
Learn how retailers can create a solid foundation for IoT data collection and processing, providing new customer insights and a successful ecommerce strategy.Tue, 31 Oct 2017 16:37:03 GMTSmart Cities and Communitieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/October/Smart-Cities-and-Communities
<p>In this white paper, explore the drivers and reasons to implement a Smart City Data strategy and architecture for tangible city and community improvements.</p>Tue, 31 Oct 2017 14:29:55 GMTBuild an Integrated Financial Platform Strategy for SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/October/Integrated-financial-platform-strategy-SAP-S4HANA
<p>Best practices for how you can reduce risk and improve your return on investment in SAP S/4HANA Finance.</p>Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:30:00 GMTHistory, Data, and Success in the Digital Economyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/October/SAP-Database-and-Data-Management
<p>The history of the SAP Database and Data Management portfolio and team.</p>Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:01:12 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Anthony Leaper on SAP Jam Collaborationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/October/CEC-2017-Anthony-Leaper-on-SAP-Jam-Collaboration
Anthony Leaper, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Collaboration, SAP, visits with SAPinsider Studio at the 2017 SAPinsider CEC event to discuss SAP Jam Collaboration.Tue, 03 Oct 2017 14:20:14 GMTBuild Industry Solutions with SAP S/4HANA and IBM Watson deployed on IBM Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/October/industry-solutions-with-SAP-S4HANA-and-IBM-Watson-deployed-on-IBM-Cloud
<P>IBM experts including Sanjay Das and Joe Gallego share advice on creating industry solutions are created and running SAP and Watson solutions on IBM Cloud.</p>Mon, 02 Oct 2017 20:01:01 GMTUnlocking Big Data at SAP TechEdhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/September/TechEd-Day-1-and-2-Recap
<p>Two days into SAP TechEd 2017, SAPinsider Senior Features Editor Ken Murphy shares his observations from Las Vegas, including SAP experts' thoughts on SAP Cloud Platform, big data, machine learning, IoT, and more.</p>Thu, 28 Sep 2017 14:07:12 GMTSAP TechEd Keynote Boldly Tackles 3 Tenets of Digital Transformationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/September/SAP-TechEd-keynote-recap
<p>How is digital transformation like the problems faced by the crew of the USS Enterprise? SAP CTO Bjorn Goerke explained, using demos and announcements about SAP S/4HANA, SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Data Hub, SAP CoPilot, and more in a Star Trek-themed keynote at SAP TechEd 2017. SAPinsider Senior Features Editor Ken Murphy checks in from Las Vegas with a recap.</p>Wed, 27 Sep 2017 14:36:16 GMTMigrating SAP Applications to the Cloud, Lessons from the Front Lineshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/September/migrating-SAP-applications-to-the-cloud
<p>Virtustream engineers answer reader questions and share in-depth technical details about greenfield deployments, SAP HANA migrations, upgrades, and much more.</p>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 19:41:00 GMTAdvice on SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence Documents and Universeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/September/Query-the-SAP-BusinessObjects-Web-Intelligence-Experts
<P>Get expert advice on SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence documents and universes.</p>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:30:00 GMTDriving a Digital Transformation on a Central Integration Platformhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2017/August/Integration-activities-in-a-digital-transformation
Bill Metallo, VP Sales, SEEBURGER, joins SAPinsider's Ken Murphy on a podcast to discuss how a shift to new digital processes affects IT and the business.Wed, 30 Aug 2017 16:00:48 GMTDigitize & Transform Procure-to-Pay with SAP Ariba Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/August/P2P-with-SAP-Ariba-solutions
<p>Join experts from SAP and B4 Consulting for a live chat on SAP Ariba solutions.</p>Thu, 03 Aug 2017 04:30:00 GMTEmpowering Companies to Digitally Transform at Scalehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/August/Empowering-Companies-to-Digitally-Transform-at-Scale
<p>Ivo Bauermann, Global Vice President at SAP, as he shares SAP’s vision for the digital enterprise and demonstrates how SAP brings together your core business systems with powerful new innovations in IoT, Big Data, Machine Learning, and Analytics.</p>Tue, 01 Aug 2017 19:38:22 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: IoT and Live Engineeringhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/June/SCM-2017-Thomas-Ohnemus-on-Live-Engineering
Thomas Ohnemus of SAP joins SAPinsider Studio at the SCM-IoT 2017 event to discuss how IoT and connectivity drive live engineering, and what this means for manufacturing.Fri, 16 Jun 2017 17:15:29 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Extending Business Processes with SAP Leonardo and IoThttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/June/IoT-2017-Tom-Kurtz-on-SAP-Leonardo
Tom Kurtz visits with SAPinsider Studio at the IoT 2017 conference to discuss the SAP Leonardo platform and what companies are doing to derive value from IoT from a business standpoint.Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:05:13 GMTA Look into the Ultimate Online Selection Directoryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/June/ERP-Selection-Directory
<p>ERP News (<a href="http://www.erpnews.com/">www.erpnews.com</a>) is excited to announce that the ultimate online ERP Selection Directory 2017 is live! ERP Selection Directory (<a href="https://erpselectiondirectory.com/">www.erpselectiondirectory.com</a>) is an unbiased, formative and unique platform where you can search for ERP vendors and related application partners just by entering the location or industry information. </p> <p>Deploying an ERP system is an expensive process and for this reason selection of an ERP vendor or an implementation partner can be very dazzling to organizations. At this point, decision makers and IT professionals seek for a trustworthy guide to make the right choice.&nbsp; If you are looking for an ERP system or an implementation partner that best fits your organization&rsquo;s needs, you can use the comprehensive list of ERP software vendors and partners of ERP Selection Directory to make the right decision for tomorrow.</p> <p>ERP Selection Directory is an on-going online directory where every company has its own page that contains the company profile, locations and industries that the company is present, contact details, online demo link, price request link and an up to date ERP selection road map. It&rsquo;s an easy to use portal where you can fill out an online form to register your company for FREE to be included in the list of ERP Vendors and Partners.</p> <p>By registering to ERP Selection Directory 2017, your company will become visible to all IT professionals and decision makers in the world. Discover your privileges now!</p> <p><strong>About ERP News</strong></p> <p>ERP NEWS is a leading global news portal that provides the latest news from all around the world about ERP Software Solutions serving ERP Professionals and IT decision makers. ERP News is an innovative global media company whose mission is to enlighten IT decision makers about the evolving world of ERP. The team is composed of engineers, consultants and marketing professionals with a deep technical knowledge and years of experience. In addition to the latest industry news you can access special reports and interviews about the sector&rsquo;s trending topics.</p> <p>For more information visit <a href="http://www.erpnews.com/">www.erpnews.com</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.erpnews.co.uk/">www.erpnews.co.uk</a>.</p>Wed, 14 Jun 2017 14:50:31 GMTPrepare Your Enterprise Data for a Move to SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/June/prepare-data-for-SAP-HANA-and-SAP-S4HANA
Join Dolphin SAP HANA experts on crafting a successful information management strategy.Tue, 13 Jun 2017 16:11:00 GMTDriving Innovation With Integrationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/June/SEEBURGER-driving-innovation-with-integration
<p>Join this live Q&A on adopting new technologies while preserving business-critical SAP processes.</p>Fri, 09 Jun 2017 15:56:27 GMTEmbracing the Art of the Possible with SAP's Chief Customer Officehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/May/HANA2017-Patrick-Bresnan
Discover how SAP&rsquo;s Chief Customer Office helps customers leverage existing investments and innovate with new technologies in this SAPinsider Studio interview with Patrick Bresnan, Vice President, Chief Customer Office at SAP.&nbsp;<br />Fri, 26 May 2017 17:42:58 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW 2017 Live Stream - Full Schedulehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-2017-Live-Stream-Schedule
<p>View the complete schedule of keynotes and sessions from SAPPHIRE NOW 2017 streaming on SAPinsider Online.</p>Fri, 12 May 2017 20:28:22 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW 2017 Coveragehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-2017-Live-Stream
<p>Watch&nbsp; keynotes, presentations, and discussions on a wide variety of topics including:SAP S/4HANA, the digital economy, the future of work, and more.</p>Fri, 12 May 2017 19:50:40 GMTThe Three Pillars of Innovationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/May/The-Three-Pillars-of-Innovation
<p>Pat Bakey of SAP explains the three core pillars of digital innovation and how these pillars can guide you on your digital transformation.&nbsp;</p>Fri, 12 May 2017 19:04:14 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Continuous Performance Management with SAP SuccessFactorshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/May/HR-2017-SAP-SuccessFactors-and-continuous-performance-management
Lara Albert of SAP SuccessFactors joins SAPinsider for an interview at the HR 2017 event to discuss how companies are transforming performance management to support more continuous feedback and coaching using SAP SuccessFactors technology.Fri, 05 May 2017 19:18:52 GMTWhat's Next with SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio and SAP BusinessObjects Lumira 2.0http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/May/whats-next-with-SAP-BusinessObjects-Design-Studio-and-SAP-BusinessObjects-Lumira-2-0
Join SAP BI experts Jeroen van der A and Xavier Hacking of Interdobs to learn more about what's coming next for SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio and SAP BusinessObjects Lumira 2.0.Thu, 04 May 2017 10:00:00 GMTDigital HR Disruption: Tackling Transformation Todayhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/May/HR-2017-keynote
<p>Watch the HR 2017 keynote delivered by SAP SuccessFactors's Yvette Cameron and Mark Brandau.</p>Wed, 03 May 2017 15:37:06 GMTProduct Profitability and New Materials Ledger on SAP S/4HANA Financehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/May/product-profitability-and-new-materials-ledger-on-SAP-S4HANA-Finance
<p>Find out how to leverage the integrated SAP S/4HANA universal journal (ACDOCA) and materials ledger (MATDOCA) to track product profitability components of cost and revenue at a granular level.</P>Mon, 01 May 2017 11:00:00 GMTHow SAP customers are transforming HR in the cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/how-sap-customers-are-transforming-hr-in-the-cloud
<span style="font-size: 13px;">In this webinar, you will learn how to easily implement new processes and technologies &mdash; such as intelligent services, virtual reality, continuous performance management, and diversity and inclusion software &mdash; while meeting the needs of all employees.</span><br />Fri, 28 Apr 2017 15:45:30 GMTVivint SmartHome Accelerates Its Growth with SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/vivint-smarthome-accelerates-its-growth-with-sap-s4hana
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Attend this webinar hosted by Jerry Druce, Senior Director of IT Program Management at Vivint, to learn how Vivint SmartHome was able to use SAP S/4HANA.</span></p>Fri, 28 Apr 2017 15:12:13 GMTSecurity Best Practices for your SAP environment after go-live with SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/security-best-practices-for-your-sap-environment-after-go-live-with-sap-hana
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Automated software, patch and configuration management, as well as system monitoring capabilities, are all vital elements of a high performing and highly available SAP environment. In addition, these capabilities enable you to easily manage your SAP landscape across physical, virtual and cloud environments.</span><br />Fri, 28 Apr 2017 14:57:15 GMTCase Study: How Tremco Optimized Labeling with SAP while Meeting Compliance and Improving Efficiencyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/case-study-how-tremco-optimized-labeling-with-sap-while-meeting-compliance
<span style="font-size: 13px;">In this webinar, discover how Tremco leveraged its existing investments in SAP to deploy an enterprise labeling solution that adhered to GHS requirements with ensured accuracy and consistency.</span><br />Fri, 28 Apr 2017 13:45:42 GMTReducing Costs & Retaining Customers: How Sales Order Automation Cuts the Bull to Free Up Resources for What Really Mattershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/reducing-costs-and-retaining-customers
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This webinar shows you how a base-level automation solution, working alongside your SAP system, can address root inefficiencies in your sales order processing, enabling you to increase revenue and improve customer satisfaction.</span><br />Fri, 28 Apr 2017 13:25:59 GMTRealizing the Benefits of Hyperconvergence, Cloud and Virtualization for your SAP Landscapehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/realizing-the-benefits-of-hyperconvergence
<span style="font-size: 13px;">In this webinar, we&rsquo;ll show you how to implement an optimized, protected and high performing cloud platform on HCI across your SAP landscape, including NetWeaver, S/4HANA and RDBMSs.</span><br />Wed, 26 Apr 2017 14:17:34 GMTSAP BI Product Convergence Update: What's Happening Today, What is Coming Next, and What Does It Mean for You?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/April/SAP-BI-product-convergence-update
Take a look at the road ahead for SAP’s BI products, assess your opportunities, and seek clarifications.Thu, 20 Apr 2017 04:00:00 GMTMeet the Intelligent ERP: Live Q&A with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Executives on Continuous Innovation, Intelligent Use Cases & Customer Successhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/April/explore-SAP-S4HANA-Cloud
<p>Join SAP S/4HANA Cloud executives Toby Davison, Özgür Otluoglu, and Marco Valencia to explore SAP S/4HANA Cloud's capabilities and the business benefits it brings.</p>Wed, 12 Apr 2017 20:42:52 GMTPreparing for an SAP HANA Upgrade: Q&A on Techniques and Strategieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/April/preparing-for-an-SAP-HANA-upgrade
<p>Join Basis & SAP Administration 2017 speaker Deb Donohoe and her colleague Christian Baessler to get expert advice on choosing an upgrade path, planning tools, unicode conversion and more. </p>Wed, 12 Apr 2017 19:21:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Bob Caswell of SAP on Connected Goods and SAP Leonardohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/April/IOT-2017-Bob-Caswell-of-SAP-on-SAP-Leonardo
Bob Caswell, Senior Product Manager, IoT, SAP, discusses SAP Leonardo and Connected Goods during an interview with SAPinsider at the SAPinsider IoT 2017 event in Orlando.Tue, 11 Apr 2017 18:38:45 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Frank Platt of SAP on Digital Manufacturinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/April/Manufacturing-2017-Frank-Platt-of-SAP-on-SAP-S4HANA-1610
Frank Platt, Senior Director, Solution Management, Manufacturing, SAP, discusses digital manufacturing and the value SAP S/4HANA 1610 brings to manufacturing organizations during an interview with SAPinsider at Manufacturing 2017.Tue, 11 Apr 2017 15:26:37 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Sam Castro of SAP on Industrial IoThttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/April/IoT-2017-Sam-Castro-on-Industrial-IoT
Sam Castro, Director, LOB Manufacturing, SAP, discusses the state of Industrial IoT during an interview with SAPinsider at the SAPinsider IoT 2017 event in Orlando.Mon, 10 Apr 2017 14:22:52 GMTTowards Zero Downtime for SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/April/zero-downtime-for-SAP-HANA
<p>Join technical architect Peter Schinagl of SUSE for a live Q&amp;A on best practices for ensuring high availability and preparing disaster recovery scenarios.</p>Thu, 06 Apr 2017 20:44:26 GMTRealize Your IT Goals with the Power of a Well-Managed Cloud Environmenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/April/realize-your-it-goals-with-the-power-of-a-well-managed-cloud-environment
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Join experts who are experienced in SAP cloud migrations as they share real-life examples of how they were able to help organizations innovate in their SAP environments in the cloud and save up to 45% on infrastructure costs.</span><br />Mon, 03 Apr 2017 13:42:00 GMTHow AP & IT Become Indispensable to the Digitized SAP Organizationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/how-ap-and-it-become-indispensable-to-the-digitized-sap-organization
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Only with the right tools can AP and IT bridge the gap between longstanding approaches to financial operations in SAP and these new expectations. Join this webinar to learn about accounts payable automation that empowers AP and IT to best fulfill their functional requirements.</span><br />Wed, 29 Mar 2017 13:55:52 GMTA Step-By-Step Look at How to Best Make the SAP Journey to the Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/a-step-by-step-look-at-how-to-best-make-the-sap-journey-to-the-cloud
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This webinar, sponsored and delivered by notable IBM cloud experts, will provide guidance on whether transitioning to the cloud is the right move for your organization. The program will start by providing you with advice on the benefits of the cloud as well as a primer on the SAP cloud products available, and then give you a step-by-step explanation of the phases your organization should go through to help ensure a seamless transition to the cloud.</span><br />Fri, 24 Mar 2017 16:20:57 GMTVectus Industries Reduces Supply Chain Costs with SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/vectus-industries-reduces-supply-chain-costs-with-sap-s4hana
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Vectus needed a consolidated digital core to streamline operations and increase transparency for its business, distributors, and customers to expand nationally and internationally. Attend this webinar to learn how Vectus Industries deployed SAP S/4HANA.</span>Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:37:05 GMTOvercoming Supply Chain Limitations in Classical ERP systemshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/overcoming-supply-chain-limitations-in-classical-erp-systems
<span style="font-size: 13px;">ERP applications have traditionally been viewed as the digital backbone of the enterprise that supports various business areas, including supply chain processes. However, as the requirements of each organization grew more sophisticated, the underlying database couldn&rsquo;t keep up and limited ERP performance.&nbsp;</span><br />Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:24:28 GMTMapping your journey to SAP S/4HANA - Compare options, and get technical tips and tricks to succeedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/March/mapping-your-journey-to-sap-s4hana
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Attend this session to understand the different paths to SAP S/4HANA, and the implications or expected impact of moving to the next stage &mdash; SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA Finance, or SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management.</span><br />Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:09:10 GMTMigrating from SAP ERP HCM to SAP SuccessFactorshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/March/migrating-from-sap-erp-hcm-to-sap-successfactors
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This session provides an overview of options on how to address these issues and the overall client journey to the cloud, with a focus on migrating from SAP ERP Human Capital Management (SAP ERP HCM) to SAP SuccessFactors.</span><br />Wed, 22 Mar 2017 12:48:17 GMTFinancials and GRC 2017 Keynote and Coveragehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/March/Financials-GRC-2017-keynote-coverage
<p>Watch the conference keynote and read coverage of the event.</p>Mon, 20 Mar 2017 21:21:00 GMTRun Your Business Smarter with Advanced Analytics and Machine Learninghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/running-your-business-smarter-with-advanced-analytics-and-machine-learning
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Join us to hear more on approaches to developing and deploying high-value advanced analytics and machine learning programs.</span><br />Mon, 20 Mar 2017 16:19:00 GMTComplete Your Digital Transformation Journey with an Accurate User Experiencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/complete-your-digital-transformation-journey-with-an-accurate-user-experience
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Join this webinar to discover exactly how developing a strong UX strategy can move your business forward. Hear a first-hand account of how Swiss Post, the national postal service of Switzerland, transformed UX within its organization by leveraging the SDK for iOS and SAP Cloud Platform Mobile Services.</span><br />Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:20:45 GMTAn Attendee Perspective: One-on-One with Drew Iacone of Hewlett Packard Enterprisehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/March/One-on-One-with-Drew-Iacone-of-Hewlett-Packard-Enterprise
<p>A conversation with Drew Iacone of HPE about his experiences attending SAPinsider's BI 2017, HANA 2017, and Basis &amp; SAP Administration 2017 events.&nbsp;</p>Mon, 20 Mar 2017 13:49:27 GMTTest drive insiderTRAINING with 15 free lessonshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/March/Test-drive-insiderTRAINING-with-15-free-lessons
insiderTRAINING offers 15 free, no-obligation lessons to test out the learning platform. All of insiderTRAINING's lessons are hands-on and take place in a simulated SAP environment so students get experience navigating screens and entering transaction codes just like they would in real life.Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:41:13 GMTAnalytics in the Digital Economy and Seize the Insight-Driven Advantagehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2017/March/HANA-2017-keynote-analytics-in-the-digital-economy
<p>Watch the BI, HANA, and Basis & SAP Administration 2017 keynote addresses by SAP's Mike Flannagan and Deloitte's Jag Bandla and Chris Dinkel.</p>Wed, 15 Mar 2017 22:02:36 GMTHow You Can Benefit from the Values of IBM Power in Your Journey to SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/March/IBM-Power-for-SAP-HANA
<p>Learn about specific actions you can take and best practices you can follow to successfully deploy SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA on IBM Power Systems.</p>Wed, 08 Mar 2017 16:46:18 GMTTalk to Me, Goose - UX in a Bot Worldhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/March/UX-in-a-bot-world
<p>It's possible, right now, to connect almost any smart assistant tool to SAP software through SAPUI5 and OData services in SAP Gateway. This makes your current (and future!) SAP Fiori apps prime candidates for smart assistant integration.</P>Mon, 06 Mar 2017 22:37:11 GMTYour Edge | Your Core - Bringing OT and IT together to implement a future-proofed IoT strategy with SAP and HPEhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/your-edge-your-core-bringing-ot-and-it-together-to-implement-a-future-proofed-iot-strategy
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This session demonstrates how SAP Leonardo Edge, SAP&rsquo;s solution for IoT edge computing, runs on HPE&rsquo;s Converged Edge Systems with compute, control systems, and data acquisition in a single enclosure and hardened for IoT edge environments. We will overview SAP and HPE&rsquo;s joint solution strategy and roadmap for IoT and go into the architectural implications of the various intelligent edge and smart location use cases.</span><br />Mon, 06 Mar 2017 17:06:28 GMTYour Apps | Your Data - Protect your SAP data without holding back your Digital Transformation and Hybrid Cloud agenda with HPEhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/your-apps-your-data-protect-your-sap-data-without-holding-back-your-digital-transformation
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This session explains how to create a forward looking business continuity strategy for your entire SAP deployment and more broadly, your business critical recovery group that is often inclusive of non-SAP applications. With HPE Enterprise Application Continuity for SAP, we have your business critical workloads covered&hellip; and recovered!</span><br />Mon, 06 Mar 2017 16:52:41 GMTYour Right Mix - HPE explores how Mission Critical Connections to your S/4 digital core influence your hybrid cloud deployment optionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/your-right-mix-hpe-explores-how-mission-critical-connections-to-your-s4-digital-core
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This session helps you understand what your right mix should be by examining key mission critical connections and the impact they have on your efforts to best architect and future-proof your hybrid cloud solution. We will overview our point of view and relationship with SAP around their HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC) offering.</span><br />Thu, 02 Mar 2017 18:04:34 GMTBig Bang vs Agile - Move to S/4HANA faster, more easily and more affordably with HPE's agile S4in4 approachhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/March/big-bang-vs-agile-move-to-s4hana-faster-more-easily-and-more-affordably
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This session overviews the four major steps virtually every SAP ERP customer has to navigate to get across the chasm and in-line with SAP&rsquo;s innovation investments and &lsquo;Digital Core&rsquo; vision. Whether you are considering a move to S/4 now or in the future, this session will provide you with value able insights needed to chart your course.</span><br />Thu, 02 Mar 2017 17:46:39 GMTProven Techniques and Strategies to Fortify Your SAP Landscape from Cybersecurity Threatshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/March/fortify-your-SAP-landscape-from-cybersecurity-threats
<p>Join SAPinsider GRC 2017 speaker Peter Hobson for a deep dive into cybersecurity as it relates to your SAP landscape.</p>Thu, 02 Mar 2017 17:30:00 GMTInformation Governance: Setting and Enforcing your Data Policy Decisionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/March/setting-and-enforcing-data-policy-decisions
<p>Learn the basics of setting and enforcing data policy decisions and why this is critical for your business.</p>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:20:51 GMTThe Business Value of Innovating with SAP HANA: Explore Real-Life Stories of Successhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/February/the-business-value-of-innovating-with-sap-hana-explore-real-life-stories-of-success
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Join us for an informative and insightful webcast led by IDC research analyst Carl Olofson and SAP HANA expert Marie Goodell. Explore the findings of an IDC study that analyzes how 10 companies are using the SAP HANA platform to gain a competitive advantage, build innovative applications, and gain an average five-year ROI of 575%.</span><br />Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:07:31 GMTAccelerate Digital Transformation with a Next Generation In-Memory Data Platformhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/February/build-test-and-measure-the-value-of-your-business-applications
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Data is king in today&rsquo;s digital economy, but value is hard to get. And while technology spending is increasing, business satisfaction is decreasing.&nbsp;That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s essential that your business has a digital foundation that can transform data into insights, and insights into actions &ndash; in real time.</span></p>Mon, 27 Feb 2017 16:56:39 GMTWhat is SAP S/4HANA 1610, and what does it mean for you?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/February/what-is-sap-s4hana-1610-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Attend this webinar and learn about the new features delivered with SAP S/4HANA 1610 and how this new release fits into your organization&rsquo;s path forward.</span><br />Mon, 27 Feb 2017 15:25:44 GMTinsiderTRAINING announces 9 new sessions on Financials, Solution Manager, and BusinessObjectshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/February/9-new-courses-added-to-insiderTRAINING
insiderTRAINING announces 9 new courses available on the learning platform. The new session are on SAP Solution Manager Test Management, SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, SAP Central Controlling, SAP Financial Accounting, the Asset History Sheet, Material Ledger, General Ledger Journal Entries, Finance Org Structure Numbering Conventions, and Accounts Payable.Wed, 22 Feb 2017 18:48:11 GMTReinventing Procure-to-Pay: Top 5 strategies that Procurement and Payables need to knowhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/February/reinventing-procure-to-pay-top-5-strategies-that-procurement-and-payables-need-to-know
<span style="font-size: 13px;">In this webinar you will learn how SAP Ariba can help bring procurement and accounts payables together in a single process and on a single platform to drive efficiencies and compliance, capture spend savings, create value for their organization, and become strategic partners to the business.&nbsp;</span><br />Mon, 06 Feb 2017 18:53:48 GMTSurvey Results: How to Ensure a High Performing Procure-to-Pay Processhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/January/survey-results-how-to-ensure-a-high-performing-procure-to-pay-process
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This new infographic report from sharedserviceslink.com and SAP Ariba presents key results from a recent survey into the procure-to-pay challenges and best practices of more than 150 finance and shared services professionals.</span><br />Mon, 30 Jan 2017 16:20:34 GMTWhat does SAP HANA Live mean for reporting and analytics?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2017/January/what-SAP-HANA-Live-means-for-reporting-and-analytics
Join us as BI 2017 speaker Rob Frye of Comerit and his team at Comerit Labs answer questions on the deployment, installation, and features of SAP HANA Live.Tue, 24 Jan 2017 05:00:00 GMTHow ASM International improved performance and reduced costs with a virtualized SAP landscapehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/January/how-asm-international-improved-performance-and-reduced-costs-with-a-virtualized-SAP-landscape
<span style="font-size: 13px;">Read this white paper for an inside look at how ASM moved its business-critical SAP workloads to a virtualized, hyperconverged infrastructure environment, and the benefits it has realized as a result of this move.</span><br />Mon, 23 Jan 2017 17:20:00 GMTFreud-ify Your SAP Fiorihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2017/January/Freud-ify-your-SAP-Fiori
<p>How using three principles of the human mind with SAP Fiori can create incredible user experiences.</p>Fri, 20 Jan 2017 20:17:10 GMTWhy Can't Accounts Payable Meet Changing Expectations?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/January/Top-Image-Carsten-Nelk-QA
<p>Expert advice on solving accounts payable challenges in SAP environments</p>Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:17:26 GMTConsidering Your SAP HANA Implementation? How to Reduce Costs and Optimize Performancehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Webinars/2017/January/considering-your-sap-hana-implementation-how-to-reduce-costs-and-optimize-performance
<span style="font-size: 13px;">This webinar will provide guidance on whether you should begin that journey by discussing how you can minimize the costs and complications of an SAP HANA implementation. Learn how you can drastically reduce the cost of SAP HANA and achieve performance that will quickly prove business results.</span>Mon, 09 Jan 2017 19:00:00 GMTWhy Report Governance is Needed for Successful Business Intelligencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2017/January/why-report-governance-is-needed-for-successful-business-intelligence
<p><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 13px;">In this environment, organizations must make&nbsp;a strategic, end user-friendly&nbsp;BI governance&nbsp;strategy a priority to bridge this gap. And to do so, they must pay careful attention to report governance, an essential subset of BI governance.</span><br /> <p><br /> </p> <ul> </ul>Mon, 09 Jan 2017 18:30:00 GMTHow a good employee training program can help reduce turnover rateshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/December/how-a-good-employee-training-program-can-help-reduce-turnover-rates
Proving the ROI of an employee training program is no easy task, but what is the cost of <em>not</em> training your employees? Recent studies show that the cost of turnover could be anywhere from $11,000 per vacancy to two times an employee's annual salary. Learn how employee learning programs can help improve performance and retention and get an understanding why not training employees is an expense your company can't afford.Wed, 14 Dec 2016 20:42:50 GMTWhat's Coming in 2017 for SAP BusinessObjects BI? Q&A with SAP Mentor Tammy Powlashttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/December/whats-coming-in-2017-for-SAP-BusinessObjects-BI
Join Tammy Powlas for a live Q&amp;A session and learn about what the future holds for SAP BI solutions and how you can best new leverage BI tools.<br />Wed, 07 Dec 2016 05:00:00 GMTData Temperatures and Partitioninghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/December/HDS-data-temperatures-and-partitioning
An expert look at how HDS solves data accessibility problems.Tue, 06 Dec 2016 21:19:11 GMTNot 2 but 4 Billion Reasons to Choose Hitachi for your SAP HANA Environmenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/December/HDS-latest-SAP-BW-Advance-Mixed-Load-Benchmark
A look at the latest SAP BW Advance Mixed Load Benchmark (BW-AML Benchmark) where Hitachi now ranks first for the 4 billion initial record load.Tue, 06 Dec 2016 18:08:40 GMTIntroduction: Unlocking The Value of Your Enterprise Data to Accelerate Business Transformationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/December/HDS-unlocking-the-value-of-your-enterprise-data-to-accelerate-business-transformation
What does digital transformation mean in the context of your business?Tue, 06 Dec 2016 18:00:16 GMTExplore Your SAP S/4HANA Implementation Optionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/December/SAP-S4HANA-implementation-options
Join this special encore live Q&amp;A presentation for SAP professionals in the&nbsp; Asia/Pacific region. Ask your questions on how SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA) Value Assurance offerings can help your organization identify opportunities, plan for and execute value-driven business transformation and realize additional value from your SAP S/4HANA software implementation with SAP Digital Business Services and our partner ecosystem.Tue, 06 Dec 2016 05:00:00 GMTInfographic: Investigating the 5 Ws of SAP end-user traininghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/November/infographic-investigating-the-5-ws-of-end-user-training
Employee training programs are frequently misunderstood by management and are the first thing cut when budgets get tight. Here are the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of SAP end-user education that prove their value.Wed, 30 Nov 2016 19:41:50 GMTStrategic Advice to Quantify the ROI of Your Employee Training Programhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/November/quanitfy-the-ROI-of-your-employee-training-program
Calculating ROI for a training program isn&rsquo;t as straightforward as plugging numbers into a formula; there are more aspects to consider.Fri, 18 Nov 2016 20:10:17 GMTExplore Your SAP S/4HANA Implementation Optionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/November/explore-your-SAP-S4HANA-implementation-options
Live Q&A on how SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA) Value Assurance offerings can help your organization identify opportunities, plan for and execute value-driven business transformation and realize additional value from your SAP S/4HANA software implementation with SAP Digital Business Services and our partner ecosystem.Tue, 15 Nov 2016 05:00:00 GMTState of the Internet of Thingshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2016/November/State-of-the-Internet-of-Things
<p><strong>Download this IoT Special Report</strong> for strategic insight and best practices that will help you navigate the IoT journey successfully, beginning with advice from Thomas H. Davenport, Professor at Babson College, on how to get started.</p> <ul> </ul>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 17:16:00 GMTdoTERRA Brings the Power of Nature to the World at a Rapid Pacehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2016/October/IP-doTERRA-Brings-the-Power-of-Nature-to-the-World-at-a-Rapid-Pace
<p>Since its founding in 2008, doTERRA has grown exponentially, providing essential oils and other health products to millions of customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The company initially used third-party IT solutions for its day-to-day operations but, as it expanded, decided to build more scalable, internally-managed systems. Learn how doTERRA is using SAP solutions to reshape its IT operations in an ambitious transformation plan that includes SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management, SAP Hybris solutions, and more.</p>Tue, 25 Oct 2016 14:02:09 GMT6 Factors to Consider When Evaluating End-User Training Optionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/October/evaluating-end-user-training-options
<p>The vital importance of end-user training means you should thoroughly evaluate your options to find a program that works best for your environment. There are several factors to consider when evaluating your training options.</p>Thu, 20 Oct 2016 22:57:02 GMTHow Will Digital Transformation Impact Your SAP Financials Processes?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/October/how-will-digital-transformation-impact-your-SAP-financials-processes
Attend this live Q&A session to get a global perspective on digitizing your SAP ERP and SAP HANA Financial processes. They will share strategic advice on how visionary companies optimize and automate finance processes to enable fast, accurate, and compliant financial decisions.Tue, 18 Oct 2016 04:00:00 GMTAccelerating Your Journey to SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/October/HDS-journey-to-SAP-S4HANA
How organizations can take advantage of SAP S/4HANA as the digital core to drive business transformation.Tue, 04 Oct 2016 17:55:20 GMT5 Reasons Why You Need an Agile Delivery Model for SAP ERPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/September/Basis-Technologies-agile-delivery-for-SAP
<p>The developing digital economy is driving a big change in the way applications and infrastructure are provisioned and delivered.</p>Fri, 30 Sep 2016 14:17:44 GMTAdvancing Your Analytics for the Digital Age with SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise, Premium Editionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/September/QA-on-Advancing-Your-Analytics-for-the-Digital-Age-with-SAP-BusinessObjects-Enterprise
Join this live Q&amp;A to learn how the premium edition of SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise can provide you with the analytics capabilities you need to succeed in the digital economy. You will find answers to pressing questions on how to best leverage SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise.Tue, 27 Sep 2016 04:00:00 GMT5 Tips to Maximize Your SAP HANA Landscapehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2016/September/HDS-maximize-your-SAP-HANA-landscape
Get 5 tips on implementing SAP HANA and adopting a converged infrastructure.Thu, 22 Sep 2016 18:23:06 GMTSAP ERP HCM: Delivered and Planned Innovationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/September/SAP-ERP-HCM-delivered-and-planned-innovations
<p>SAP's Ralf Wagner discusses how you can leverage your existing SAP ERP HCM investment.</p>Fri, 16 Sep 2016 16:17:58 GMTWhat Does the Future Hold for SAP ERP HCM?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/September/what-does-the-future-hold-for-SAP-ERP-HCM
<p>If your company is planning to remain on SAP ERP HCM for a little bit longer, what can you expect from SAP over the next few years? This blog looks at future enhancements to make the system easier to use.</p>Fri, 16 Sep 2016 13:49:57 GMTManaging the People Side of an SAP Project: Live Q&A with Doug Whittlehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/September/Doug-Whittle-on-managing-the-people-side-of-an-SAP-project
Join this live Q&amp;A with Managing Your SAP Projects 2016 speaker Doug Whittle to learn best practices for leading and managing others throughout your SAP project. Ask your most pressing questions about engaging stakeholders, kicking-off a project, and harnessing the different working styles within a team.Thu, 15 Sep 2016 04:00:00 GMTHow to Accelerate Your Transition to SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/September/IBM-deploying-SAP-S4HANA-in-the-Cloud
Experts share advice on specific actions you can take and best practices you can follow to successfully deploy SAP S/4HANA in the cloud.Tue, 13 Sep 2016 04:00:00 GMTLeveraging SAP BusinessObjects Lumira with SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/August/QA-on-Leveraging-SAP-BusinessObjects-Lumira-with-SAP-BusinessObjects-BI-4-2
Attend this live Q&amp;A session to learn how you can meet these needs by leveraging SAP BusinessObjects Lumira with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) 4.2. We will also discuss the myriad functionalities SAP BusinessObjects Lumira provides.Wed, 31 Aug 2016 04:00:00 GMTDelivering Complex Enterprise Applications via Hybrid Cloudshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/White-Papers/2016/August/Virtustream-delivering-Complex-Enterprise-applications-via-hybrid-clouds
A look at the benefits and challenges of a hybrid cloud environment for the enterprise.Fri, 19 Aug 2016 19:50:41 GMTOptimize Asset Management with ECM for SAP Landscapeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/June/QA-with-OpenText-on-ECM-and-asset-management
<p>Attend this live Q&amp;A session to get an international perspective with industry experts Nicholas Mauldin (AMER) and Claudia Traving (EMEA) of OpenText on how leading organizations are leveraging Enterprise Content Management (ECM) in their SAP landscapes to digitize key assets and processes, thereby providing fast access to documentation. </p>Thu, 02 Jun 2016 19:03:00 GMT6 Questions to Ask Your Cloud Service Provider Before Moving SAP to the Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/May/Virtustream-6-questions-to-ask-your-cloud-service-provider
<p>Moving mission-critical applications such as SAP to the cloud can provide a great return in terms of user satisfaction and fiscal management. For an optimal return, however, you can’t go it alone — you need to carefully consider a cloud service provider (CSP) who can help you maximize your experience by helping you meet performance requirements, plan your migration, and execute.</p>Wed, 25 May 2016 21:59:19 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Richard Howells on Harnessing the Internet of Thingshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/May/SCM-CRM-2016-Richard-Howells-on-Harnessing-IoT
<p>Richard Howells, Global Vice President of Extended Supply Chain at SAP, joins SAPinsider Studio at the SAPinsider SCM-CRM 2016 event to discuss how the Internet of Things can help organizations re-imagine their supply chains.&nbsp;</p>Mon, 23 May 2016 19:22:05 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Reactionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/May/SAPinsider-on-site-at-SAPPHIRE
Read the note and tweets of SAPinsider editors, live from SAPPHIRE NOW.Wed, 18 May 2016 18:12:30 GMTEmpathy Leading SAP's Effort to Help Companies Run Livehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/May/SAPPHIRE-2016-Bill-McDermott-keynote
<p>SAP CEO Bill McDermott discusses company strategy at SAPPHIRE NOW keynote.</p>Wed, 18 May 2016 17:52:34 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: SAP Jam Collaboration and the Empowered Sales Executivehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/May/SCM-CRM-2016-SAP-Jam-and-engaging-employees
Jeff Gan, Product Manager, SAP Jam Collaboration, joins SAPinsider Studio at the SAPinsider SCM-CRM 2016 event to discuss SAP Jam and offer insight into how organizations can better connect with employees to drive business results.Fri, 13 May 2016 19:58:21 GMTInnovate Faster with SAP HANA and Hitachi IoT Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/May/HDS-innovate-faster-with-SAP-HANA-and-Hitachi-IoT-solutions
<p>Hitachi Data Systems has partnered with SAP to bring an integrated platform that drives real-time reporting and analytics.</p>Thu, 12 May 2016 16:55:57 GMTMeet Demand-Driven Scheduling Requirements with SAP ERP and SAP APO: Q&A on When to Use Which for Enhanced Supply and Production Planninghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/May/QA-with-Matthew-Campbell-on-SAP-ERP-and-SAP-APO
Join this live Q&amp;A with Logistics and SCM, Manufacturing, Procurement, and PLM 2016 speaker Matthew Campbell to learn how &mdash; and when &mdash; to use SAP ERP and the PP/DS and SNP components of SAP APO to satisfy your organization&rsquo;s demand-driven supply chain scheduling requirements.Wed, 04 May 2016 04:23:02 GMTHow to Protect Your Data from Today's Biggest Cybersecurity Threats: Q&A on Managing Security in Your SAP Landscapehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/April/QA-with-Julie-Ford-on-protecting-SAP-data-from-cyber-threats
GRC 2016 speaker Julie Ford of Customer Advisory Group, an expert with more than 13 years of experience as an architect in SAP security, answers questions on how to stay ahead of hackers and protect your critical SAP data.Thu, 14 Apr 2016 17:23:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider: Ivo Bauermann on the Digital Imperativehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/April/FIN-GRC-2016-Ivo-Bauermann-on-digital-enterprise
Ivo Bauermann, Global Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Performance Management, SAP, joins SAPinsider Studio at FIN-GRC 2016 to discuss how SAP is helping companies make a digital transformation and run a &ldquo;live&rdquo; business.Wed, 06 Apr 2016 20:12:12 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Birgit Starmanns of SAP on SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/April/FIN-GRC-2016-Birgit-Starmanns-on-SAPS4HANA
Birgit Starmanns, SAP, Senior Director, Product Marketing, SAP S/4HANA, joins SAPinsider Studio at the Financials 2016 event in Las Vegas to discuss SAP S/4HANA, including details surrounding Universal Journal and Central Finance.Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:00:33 GMTNew York Life Plans Bright Future for Financehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2016/April/IP-New-York-Life-Plans-Bright-Future-for-Finance
<p>New York Life Insurance Company, one of the largest life insurers in the world, is responding to the dramatic changes sweeping through the business world by accelerating its evolution into a more agile enterprise. In particular, the organization is speeding up analytics for real-time insight and improving process efficiencies around data access and management. Discover how New York Life implemented SAP S/4HANA Finance in a managed SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud environment to enable instant financial insights, faster processes, and more strategic use of its financial data.</p>Tue, 05 Apr 2016 21:08:18 GMTDavid Leadbetter Golf Scores a Hole in One with SAP Business Onehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2016/April/IP-David-Leadbetter-Golf-Scores-a-Hole-in-One-with-SAP-Business-One
<p>Among golf enthusiasts, David Leadbetter Golf is a household name in golf instruction, including personal lessons, product design, and training goods and services. This article explores how the growing company transitioned from relying on spreadsheet-based manual processes to SAP Business One in the cloud in order to achieve a 15% increase in revenue, 10% decrease in operational costs, and optimized stock levels with a 17% reduction in inventory.</p>Tue, 05 Apr 2016 20:55:07 GMTWhat's New in SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio 1.6? Q&A on New Features, Deployment Options, Use Cases, and Morehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/March/QA-with-Interdobs-on-SAP-Design-Studio
SAP BI experts Jeroen van der A and Xavier Hacking of Interdobs answer readers' questions on new capabilities and key features of SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio 1.6, the different deployment options, mobile capabilities, and more.Thu, 31 Mar 2016 18:51:00 GMTSupply Chain Spotlight Session: Digitizing Your Supply Chainhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/SCM-2016-spotlight-digitizing-your-supply-chain
<p>SAP's Richard Howells hosts a panel of supply chain experts to discuss strategies for customer centricity, individualized products, resource scarcity, and business networks, as well as developing a roadmap to the digital supply chain.</p>Tue, 29 Mar 2016 14:12:48 GMTSimplify and Automate SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/March/roadshow-simplify-and-automate-SAP-HANA
Watch this video series to learn about SAP HANA&rsquo;s business impact, key customer stories and infrastructure optimization decisions.Fri, 25 Mar 2016 20:49:11 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Sanjay Das of IBM on Digital Reinventionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/BI-HANA-2016-Sanjay-Das-of-IBM-on-digital-reinvention
Sanjay Das, HANA &amp; Analytics Leader for Europe, IBM, joins SAPinsider Studio at the 2016 BI-HANA-Iot event to discuss the technical side of a digital reinvention.Thu, 24 Mar 2016 15:11:18 GMTLive Q&A: How to simplify your SAP landscape with new ECM solution optionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/March/QA-with-Dolphin-on-content-management
<p>With SAP HANA and the cloud widening the scope of opportunities, it&rsquo;s an optimal time for companies to consider a modern approach to content management. During this live Q&amp;A, Dolphin President and CEO Dr. Werner Hopf and Vishal Awasthi, Chief Technology Officer at Dolphin, answered questions on how a service-based content management solution can enable your company to keep unstructured data where you live &mdash; in your SAP system.</p>Wed, 23 Mar 2016 04:00:00 GMTSurviving and Thriving in a Digital Economyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/SCM-CRM-2016-Keynote-Address
SAP's Hans Thalbauer, Senior Vice President, Extended Supply Chain Solutions, and Volker Hildebrand, Global Vice President, Customer Engagement &amp; Commerce share advice for how customers can be in a position to capture and create the opportunities of the digital economy.Tue, 22 Mar 2016 21:49:29 GMTTransforming the Finance Organization to Thrive in the Digital Worldhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/Financials-2016-keynote-address
SAP's Ivo Bauermann discusses how enterprise digitization is re-writing the rules of competition and shares examples of companies that are thriving in this hyper-accelerated world.Thu, 17 Mar 2016 21:55:20 GMTModernize Your SAP Landscapehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/March/new-series-Modernize-Your-SAP-Landscape
Experts share advice on the technical decisions and requirements to consider when evaluating SAP S/4HANA, deployment options, and much moreThu, 17 Mar 2016 19:17:19 GMTTop 5 Business Benefits of a Modern Core SAP Infrastructure and Strategies for Getting Therehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/business-benefits-of-a-modern-core-SAP-infrastructure
<p>Michael St-Jean shows you why SAP landscape transformation is more than an IT project and how you can achieve and demonstrate core business value.</p>Wed, 16 Mar 2016 19:16:00 GMTSAP HANA Security: Preventing the Internal Threathttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/March/Symmetry-SAP-HANA-security-preventing-the-internal-threat
Expert advice on ensuring your SAP HANA system is secured from any internal threats.Tue, 15 Mar 2016 19:52:22 GMTTurn IoT Device Data into Actionable Intelligence: How to Harness Information for Use in Your Data-Driven Businesshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/March/QA-with-Red-Hat-on-turing-IoT-device-data-into-actionable-insight
During this live Q&amp;A, Red Hat&rsquo;s Prasanna Sivaramakrishnan and Sid Sipes of SAP took readers' questions on how to harness big data and leverage edge computing to get real-time insights that lead to quicker decision making. Check out the chat replay to find out more about security, data transformation, and device connectivity.Tue, 15 Mar 2016 18:55:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio - Deloitte on IoT Strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/BI-HANA-2016-Deloitte-on-IoT
Chris Dinkel of Deloitte Consulting LLP and John Irvin of Deloitte Services LLP join SAPinsider Studio at the 2016 BI-HANA-IoT event in Las Vegas to discuss how advances in enterprise technology are helping organizations innovate in the Internet of Things (IoT) space.Tue, 08 Mar 2016 13:44:15 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Red Hat and Support for the IoT Movementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/BI-HANA-2016-Red-Hat-on-IoT
<p>Bob Mahoney, Red Hat IoT Business Development, visits SAPinsider Studio at the SAPinsider IoT conference to discuss how the company supports the growing IoT movement and community.</p>Thu, 03 Mar 2016 14:16:38 GMTVirtualizing SAP HANA: How Customers Increased Performance, Simplified Landscapes and Reduced Costshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/March/SAP-HANA-customer-stories
This presentation discussion includes lessons learned for consideration, deployment, and optimization of virtual SAP HANA.Wed, 02 Mar 2016 18:49:57 GMTHow to Design a Successful SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.x platform: Q&A on Security and Authenticationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/February/QA-with-Xoomworks-on-security-in-SAP-BI
<p>In this live Q&amp;A, Martin Macmaster, Principal Consultant at Xoomworks, answers questions on how to set up and manage authentications and best practices for user login issues. Check out the chat replay to learn about the different security models supported by SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.x and how to design the best platform for your business. </p>Thu, 25 Feb 2016 13:50:00 GMTBest Practices for Virtualizing SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/February/Best-practices-for-virtualizing-SAP-HANA
<p>This presentation discussion provides how to achieve faster time-to-value, better service levels and significant savings by virtualizing SAP HANA. &nbsp;</p>Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:24:59 GMTThe Digital Imperativehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/February/Irfan-Khan-keynote-BI-2016
<p>In this keynote address by Irfan Khan, CTO of SAP Global Customer Operations, hear SAP&rsquo;s vision for the digital enterprise and how analytics, the SAP HANA platform, cloud, and the Internet of Things will all play a crucial role in enabling organizations to go digital.</p>Wed, 17 Feb 2016 19:44:19 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: SAP's Irfan Khan and Jayne Landry on SAP HANA, Analytics, and the Roambi Acquisitionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/February/BI-2016-keynote-interview
<p>Irfan Khan, CTO of SAP Global Customer Operations, and Jayne Landry, Global VP and GM for Business Intelligence, joined SAPinsider's Ken Murphy at the BI-HANA-IoT 2016 conference to discuss insights shared during the event keynote.</p>Wed, 17 Feb 2016 00:50:08 GMTTransform your Data Center with SAP HANA on VMware SDDC Automationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/February/transform-your-data-center-with-SAP-HANA
<br /> Presented live by VMware Product Manager/Field Architect, David Gallant, this presentation discussion explains how the right infrastructure is critical to supporting SAP HANA.Wed, 10 Feb 2016 21:05:22 GMTRunning SAP HANA? What You Need to Know from a Basis Perspectivehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/February/SAP-HANA-Basis-perspective
SAP HANA is becoming a reality for many SAP customers. As a Basis Administrator, DBA, or System Architect, you may be asking yourself what that will mean for you. What are the key decision points during the planning phases that will require your input? What skills will you need to attain and leverage during implementation, migration, and during steady state operations?Thu, 04 Feb 2016 23:09:32 GMTDemystifying SAP HANA and Its Potential Impact on Your Businesshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/February/demystifying-SAP-HANA-and-its-potential-impact
<p>SAP's Venkata Giduthuri answered critical questions about SAP HANA and looked at the potential and possibilities that SAP HANA can bring to your company. This presentation was part of the Simplify and Automate SAP HANA one-day forum.</p>Thu, 04 Feb 2016 15:22:24 GMTSimplify Business Processes in SAP ERP with Optimized UX: Q&A on How a Mobile-Enabled User Experience Streamlines Processes and Boosts Productivityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/January/QA-with-CNBS-on-Optimized-UX-in-SAP-ERP
View the live Q&amp;A chat replay to learn how to shift your focus from what a process accomplishes in SAP ERP to what the user experiences while doing the work. Discover how to boost the productivity of your workforce and improve decision making with a simpler, mobile-enabled process, and get answers to your most-pressing questions.<br />Wed, 27 Jan 2016 20:45:00 GMTCost Benefits of SAP HANA in the Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2016/January/Cost-benefits-of-SAP-HANA-in-the-cloud
A recent cost-based analysis conducted by analyst group Forrester shows that migrating an SAP implementation to SAP HANA can save money &mdash; even on hardware. A managed cloud can make SAP HANA even more affordable.&nbsp; By leveraging the right SAP HANA cloud partner you can actually save even more money when implementing or migrating to SAP HANA.Thu, 21 Jan 2016 22:32:45 GMTBest Practices for an Effective Migration to SAP BusinessObjects Design Studiohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2016/January/QA-with-Ingo-Hilgefort-on-SAP-Design-Studio
Check out the chat replay from this live Q&amp;A event to learn more about SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio, discuss the differences between this platform and its predecessor, and discover how best to migrate from SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards to avoid complications.Tue, 19 Jan 2016 21:25:00 GMTA Conversation With Robb Neuenschwander: Lead Technical Architect at Targethttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2016/January/HDS-Target-lead-technical-architect-on-SAP-HANA
Learn why Target selected Hitachi platforms for their SAP HANA deployments.Tue, 05 Jan 2016 18:55:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: NIMBL's Jonathan Bragg on Design Thinkinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/December/Fiori-Bootcamp-NIMBLs-Jonathan-Bragg-on-Design-Thinking
Jonathan Bragg, SAP UI/UX Lead for NIMBL Consulting, joins SAPinsider Studio at the 2015 SAP Fiori Bootcamp to discuss design thinking methodology with SAP Fiori.Wed, 30 Dec 2015 15:16:51 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: T. Lawrie Consulting on SAP Solution Manager 7.2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/December/T-Lawrie-on-SAP-Solution-Manager-7-2
Teren Lawrie, Director, T. Lawrie Consulting, joins SAPinsider Studio at Managing Your SAP Projects 2015 to discuss the impending release of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 and what it means for customers.Mon, 21 Dec 2015 14:18:30 GMTBest Practices for Evaluating Your SAP Landscape for a Successful SAP S/4HANA Transformationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/December/QA-with-HPE-on-evaluating-SAP-landscape-for-migration-to-S4HANA
<p>It&rsquo;s no secret that organizations that don&rsquo;t embrace the digital enterprise will fall behind their competitors. SAP S/4HANA is designed to help SAP customers down the digital transformation path, but how can companies best navigate that road for a successful migration? </p>Tue, 15 Dec 2015 17:27:00 GMTSimplify B2B transactions in SAP ERP: Q&A on integration, user experience, payment processing, and morehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/November/QA-with-CNBS-on-ecommerce
<p>How can you meet the changing user experience expectations of your enterprise buyers without adding complexity? What are your options for bringing a B2C look and feel to B2B sales transactions when you are running SAP ERP?</p>Tue, 10 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMTSAP S/4HANA: What it Means for SAP Business Warehousehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/November/David-Dixon-on-SAP-BW-and-SAP-S4HANA
David Dixon of TruQua Enterprises joins SAPinsider for a podcast on where SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) stands with respect to SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA).Mon, 09 Nov 2015 21:25:33 GMTHow to Secure the Success of Your Journey to SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/November/QA-with-SAP-on-S4HANA-service-and-support
<p>Learn how SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA) can help your organization dissolve boundaries, realign existing processes, and create a structured framework for innovation. </p>Fri, 06 Nov 2015 15:33:56 GMTMigrating to the Cloud: Your Critical Questions Answeredhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/November/Bill-Clerico-of-IBM-on-SAP-in-the-cloud
Bill Clerico, IBM Cloud Advisor and Cloud Solution Architect, joins SAPinsider for a podcast to address some of the key considerations in a cloud migration, including deployment options, security, and workloads.Fri, 06 Nov 2015 05:00:00 GMTDrive Benefits and Future IT Projects with an Agile Approach to SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/October/HCL-an-agile-approach-to-SAP-S4HANA
In Part 2 of this SAP S/4HANA blog, HCL's Dirk vanderMerwe details the key to realizing the benefits of SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA.Tue, 27 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMTHCL's Ian Greenhalgh on the Importance of Consolidating Your SAP Instanceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/October/HCL-Ian-Greenhalgh-on-instance-consolidation
Ian Greenhalgh, Head of Applications Strategy at HCL Technologies, talks about how to implement an SAP instance consolidation strategy to lower IT operating costs and set your company up for a successful migration to SAP S/4HANA.Tue, 27 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMTPrepare for SAP Solution Manager 7.2: Q&A with SAP's John Krakowski on the new releasehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/October/QA-with-John-Krakowski-on-SAP-Solution-Manager
<p>John Krakowski of SAP answers readers' questions about how best to prepare for SAP Solution Manager 7.2, which is planned for a 2016 release and will include new highlights such as adoption of SAP HANA and an improved user experience.</p>Tue, 27 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMTSave Millions Through the Consolidation of Your Company's SAP Instanceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/October/HCL-save-money-with-SAP-instance-consolidation
Ian Greenhalgh, Head of Applications Strategy, HCL Technologies explains how your company can realize huge operational savings by consolidating your SAP instances.Fri, 23 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMTReduce IT Costs with a 3-Tiered Approachhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/October/HCL-IT-cost-reduction-strategies
HCL's Ian Greenhalgh explains how to drive differentiation and continue to foster innovation initiatives through various cost reduction methods.Wed, 14 Oct 2015 04:00:00 GMTRoundtable Discussion Focuses on SAP Solution Manager in Latin Americahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/September/Nathan-Williams-Discusses-SAP-Solution-Manager-in-Latin-America
SAP Solution Manager expert and consultant Nathan Williams of Keen Fusion and Esteban Hartzstein of Tebyon Consulting host a Q&amp;A with executives from several Latin American companies to shed light on&nbsp;the direction of SAP Solution Manager.Fri, 18 Sep 2015 04:00:00 GMTHow Enhanced User Experience Is Changing Core HR: Q&A on HR Renewal 2.0 and SAP Fiori for ESS/MSS, Payroll, and Roles in SAP ERP HCMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/August/QA-with-Jacob-Crane-on-HR-renewal-self-services
With SAPUI5 and the updated look and feel employed by HR Renewal 2.0 as well as SAP Fiori, what is the impact on core SAP ERP HCM processes, from self-services to payroll? &nbsp;SAPinsider conference speaker Jacob Crane takes readers&rsquo; questions on the impact of HR Renewal and putting it to use in your organization.Wed, 12 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMTKnow Your HR Integration Options: Q&A with Venki Krishnamoorthy and Vishnu Kandi on SuccessFactors and Your On-Premise Systemshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/August/QA-with-Krishnamoorthy-and-Kandi-on-HR-SuccessFactors-integration
<p>When considering moving some &ndash; or all &ndash; of your HR operations to the cloud, what are the key steps for surefire integration between SuccessFactors and your on-premise solutions? &nbsp;HCM experts Venki Krishnamoorthy and Vishnu Kandi take readers&rsquo; questions on deployment models and delivered integration with SuccessFactors talent solutions and Employee Central. Learn more about the tools and best practices for integrating SAP cloud HR solutions with your on-premise ERP and HCM systems.</p>Thu, 06 Aug 2015 04:00:00 GMTThe Latest on SAP Supply Chain Execution Solutions for Transportation and Warehouse Logisticshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/July/QA-with-Dominik-Metzger-supply-chain-execution
What is the latest on SAP solutions for supply chain execution with release 9.2? What is the practical impact on how your business can manage and streamline shipping, logistics and warehouse management. SCM 2015 Singapore speaker Dominik Metzger takes readers&rsquo; questions on key functionality of SAP Transportation Management, SAP EWM, and SAP Event Management.<br />Thu, 30 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMTWhat's New with Advanced Mapping and Geolocation Intelligence in SAP BI Reporting? Q&A with Dr. Berg on Changes in WebI and Design Studiohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/July/QA-with-Dr-Berg-on-geomapping-with-SAP-BI
What is the latest on location intelligence, geospatial integration, and visualization technologies for SAP Design Studio and Web Intelligence? Dr. Bjarne Berg, Brandon Lucaciu, and Rob Frye of Comerit take readers' questions in this SAPinsider chat.Wed, 29 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMTWhere Does SAP Lumira Fit into Your BI Toolset? Q&A with SAP Mentors Joshua Fletcher & Clint Vosloohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/July/QA-with-Fletcher-Vosloo-on-SAP-Lumira
What is the latest on plans and enhancements for Lumira, what has changed with release 1.27, and how can you use Lumira with other tools in the BI toolset?&nbsp; SAP Mentors and BI 2015 speakers Clint Vosloo and Joshua Fletcher take readers' questions on SAP Lumira in this SAPinsider chat.Wed, 15 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMTCrocs Climbs New Business Heightshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2015/July/IP-Crocs-climbs-new-business-heights
<p>Crocs revenue surged between 2005 to 2007, and the footwear retailer and manufacturer's highly customized legacy IT systems were not ideal to keep up with the company's growth. To sustain the expected success, Crocs realized it needed a systems landscape that could mature with the company, and it embarked on Project Sunlight, which included an implementation of&nbsp;SAP Apparel and Footwear. Hear how the company gained newfound visibility into the business and streamlined cumbersome processes to save time and money. Learn the many benefits Crocs reaped as a result of the project, such as reduced days sales outstanding, improved fill rater, and lower SG&amp;A costs.</p>Mon, 06 Jul 2015 04:00:00 GMTComparing SAP BW on HANA vs. Native Reporting with SAP HANA: Q&A on Design, Optimization, and Troubleshootinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/June/QA-with-Dmitry-Shustov-BW-and-HANA-reporting
<p>What are the differences when running SAP BW on SAP HANA vs. HANA native reporting? How does SAP HANA change reporting solution architecture? SAP BW and HANA expert Dmitry Shustov of Xoomworks takes readers' questions on optimizing reporting, whether running SAP BW on HANA and using HANA's native reporting.</p>Thu, 25 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMTSteve Lucas on S/4HANA, Cloud, Lumira, and the Birth of SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/June/Steve-Lucas-Keynote-from-SAPinsider-Nice-2015
Watch the SAPinsider conference keynote presentation by Steve Lucas, President, SAP Platform Solutions from the 2015 HANA, BI, Financials, GRC, and HR events in Nice, France.Mon, 22 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMTHow Does SAP Design Studio Change Dashboard Design and Performance? Q&A on What's New in Release 1.5http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/June/QA-with-van-der-A-and-Hacking-on-SAP-Design-Studio-1dot5
How does SAP Design Studio fit your dashboarding needs? What is changing in the latest release, 1.5, and what is the impact of the new release on performance and integration? BI experts Jeroen van der A and Xavier Hacking take readers' Design Studio questions in this online chat.<br />Wed, 10 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMTAn expert's assessment of hybrid cloud deployment options that support unique business requirementshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/June/ibm-experts-assessment-of-hybrid-cloud-deployment-options
Presented live at Financials 2015, this session offers expert guidance for building fast, flexible, scalable, and secure cloud solutions. This session covers an overview of cloud solutions for core SAP ERP and SAP HANA, details on the options and benefits of a hybrid cloud deployment, and tips on how to deploy SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud for optimum security and performance.Tue, 09 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMTSAP BusinessObjects Design Studio: What's New in Version 1.5http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/Berg-and-Lacaciu-on-Design-Studio-1-5
<p>In this blog, we take a quick look at the new features included in version 1.5 of Design Studio. We also explore a few of the enhancements and additions to the tool and discover how these new features can enrich any dashboard, scorecard or mobile web application.</p>Fri, 29 May 2015 20:15:00 GMTCloud Lessons Learned for SAP Applications and SAP HANA: Q&A on Evaluating Cloud Cost Savings, Speed, and Performancehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/May/QA-with-Burke-Gallego-Cloud-Lessons-Learned
Moving to the cloud has shown SAP customers significant, measurable gains in processing speed, scalability, and visibility into their business processes. IBM&rsquo;s Chuck Kichler and Susan Wallace take readers' technical questions on evaluating possible cloud impacts and benefits for current and future SAP environments, and clarify your options for cloud architecture and services.Thu, 28 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTExpert Guidance for Building Fast, Flexible, Scalable, and Secure Cloud Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/building-fast-flexible-and-secure-cloud-solutions
<p>In business today, it&rsquo;s commonly acknowledged that cloud is driving efficiencies, agility, and cost savings for organizations. Download the session slides from the "SAP in the Cloud" forum to discover why companies with SAP environments are starting to explore how the cloud can assist them in driving better value.</p>Thu, 21 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTSAP in the Cloud: A Forum to Expertly Guide You Through Your Cloud Journeyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/SAP-in-the-Cloud-Chicago-recap
The SAP in the Cloud roadshow event kicked off in Chicago on May 14 and drew a crowd of SAP and IBM clients to hear about how cloud can become a competitive differentiator in their company. Get a recap of the event and find out what cities are next.Wed, 20 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTOptimizing SAP Tools for Supply Chain Analytics: <br>Q&A with SCM&nbsp;2015 Speakers Tom&nbsp;Chason and Alan&nbsp;Hendryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/May/QA-with-Chason-Hendry-SCM-Analytics
What SAP tools are available to support a forward-looking supply chain analytics strategy? Supply chain experts&nbsp; and SCM 2015 speakers Tom Chason and Alan Hendry take readers' questions on supply chain analytics for SAP systems.Thu, 14 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Spotlight: Speed That Drives Innovationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/Hasso-Plattner-SAPPHIRE-NOW-2015-Keynote-Recap
From the history to the future, SAP Co-founder and Chairman of the Executive Board Hasso Plattner came full circle with SAP HANA during his keynote Thursday morning during the third and final day of SAPPHIRE NOW 2015.Thu, 07 May 2015 23:55:00 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Spotlight: Become a Leader in the Digital Economyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/become-a-leader-in-the-digital-economy
<p>Mixing in some announcements with demos and customer success stories, SAP Executive Board member Bernd Leukert helped crystalize SAP&rsquo;s messaging around SAP S/4HANA in his keynote address before a crowd of about 20,000 attendees during the second day of SAPPHIRE NOW at the Orange County Convention Center.</p>Wed, 06 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Spotlight: How to Run Simple in a Complex Worldhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/How-to-run-simple-in-a-complex-world
<p>Review key themes from SAP CEO Bill McDermott's SAPPHIRE NOW 2015 keynote address, including the importance of digitization, customer centricity, SAP S/4HANA, and cloud technologies. Additionally, discover how companies are partnering with SAP to implement these themes and reach transformational outcomes.</p>Tue, 05 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTKeynotes Recaps and Highlights from SAPPHIRE&nbsp;NOW&nbsp;2015http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/May/SAPPHIRE-Streaming-2015
Watch replays of&nbsp;select sessions and read recaps of the keynotes from SAPPHIRE NOW 2015.Mon, 04 May 2015 14:20:00 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW 2015: SAPinsider Online Schedule of Streaming Keynotes and Sessions from Orlandohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-2015-Live-Stream-Full-Schedule
Watch SAPPHIRE NOW 2015 live stream sessions from Orlando. Review the full list of keynotes and sessions available from SAPinsider Online May 5-7.Fri, 01 May 2015 15:06:00 GMTSAPinsider Brings You Coverage of SAPPHIRE NOW 2015http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/May/SAPinsider-Coverage-of-SAPPHIRE-NOW-2015
<p>This article provides a sampling of what SAPinsider has in store for coverage of SAPPHIRE NOW and the&nbsp;ASUG Annual Conference, which kick off May 5 in Orlando. </p>Fri, 01 May 2015 04:00:00 GMTWomen in Leadership: PwC Partner Denise Malecki on Women in Leadership Roleshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/April/Denise-Malecki-Women-in-Leadership-Podcast
<p>Denise Malecki, a Partner in PwC's Health Advisory Practice, discusses SAP's role in bringing women into leadership positions and the importance of authenticity in business today.</p>Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTFI-CO Tuneups and Pitfalls: Q&A with Rohana Gunawardena on New SAP Functionality for Optimizing Financehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/April/QA-with-Rohana-Gunawardena-on-FI-CO-Updates
What are your first steps to tune and optimize your current Financial Accounting and Controlling processes and data? How will SAP ERP enhancement package 7 impact your FI processes? Financials 2015 speaker Rohana Gunawardena takes readers' questions on fine tuning and updating your FI and CO processes.Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTWomen in Leadership: Leadership Expert Erica Dhawan on Connectional Intelligence and Authentic Leadershiphttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/April/Erica-Dhawan-Women-in-Leadership-Podcast
Erica Dhawan, Founder and CEO of Cotential, a company that helps enterprises prepare for the global workplace of tomorrow, discusses connectional intelligence and its significance in business.Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTWomen in Leadership: SAP's Anka Wittenberg on Women in Technology and Leadership Roleshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/April/Anka-Wittenberg-Women-in-Leadership-Podcast
Anka Wittenberg, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for SAP globally, talks about SAP's role in bringing women into leadership positions and the importance of fostering diversity and authenticity in the workplace.Wed, 29 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Sachin Ghorpade on Disaster Recovery at Microsofthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/BASIS-Admin-2015-Sachin-Ghorpade-on-Microsoft-disaster-recovery
Sachin Ghorpade, Senior Systems Engineer, Microsoft, joins SAPinsider Studio to discuss important steps to consider in an effective disaster recovery strategy.Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTWill Your Web Intelligence Journey Lead You into Lumira? Q&A with SAP's Ty Miller & Frank Prabelhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/April/QA-with-Ty-Miller-and-Frank-Prabel-on-SAP-Lumira-and-Web-Intelligence
SAP's Ty Miller, Frank Prabel, and colleagues take readers' questions on the latest capabilities for SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence and SAP Lumira, and share insights about the product direction for the upcoming versions and beyond.Wed, 22 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTThe New Vision for CRM: Volker Hildebrand and Jamie Anderson's CRM 2015 Keynote on Redefining Customer Engagementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/CRM-2015-Keynote
<p>Watch the CRM 2015 keynote presentation by Volker&nbsp; Hildebrand, Global Vice President CRM Solutions at SAP, and Jamie Anderson,, Senior Vice President, Marketing, SAP hybris, as they discuss SAP&rsquo;s vision of the next generation of CRM, preparing for this transition, and how it will impact your current investment in CRM solutions.</p>Tue, 21 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTSupply Chain, Operations, Customers, and Cloud: Insights from the SCM 2015 and CRM 2015 Cloud Panelhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/SCM-CRM-2015-Cloud-Panel
<p>Watch the &ldquo;Cloud: What, Why, and How?&rdquo; panel discussion from the keynote stage at the Logistics and SCM 2015 and CRM 2015 conference in Las Vegas.&nbsp; Five experts&nbsp; --&nbsp; Nayaki Nayyar of SAP; Amit Venugopal of Ecenta; Dave Batt of FPX; Bruce Otte of IBM; and Tom Cassell of Capgemini --shared their advice in this practical discussion on making sound business decisions around cloud migration.</p>Thu, 16 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: AppOrchid Delivers Real-Time Apps Using SAP HANA Platformhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/BI-HANA-2015-AppOrchid-on-developing-real-time-apps-on-SAP-HANA
Dan Goldenblatt of AppOrchid discusses the company's use of the SAP HANA platform to deliver real-time apps that are changing how its customers do business.Mon, 13 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTThe Internet of Things: How the Next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everythinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/April/QA-with-Saj-Kumar-and-Jerry-Lucas-on-Internet-of-Things
In this online Q&amp;A, IoT thought leaders Saj Kumar of SAP and Jerry Lucas of Cisco take readers' strategic and technical questions about IoT&rsquo;s impact on your current processes; the planning, skills, and technical requirements to implement and manage IoT applications and data; and how Cisco and SAP are working together to provide IoT solutions.Fri, 10 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTHans Thalbauer SCM 2015 Keynote: Transforming Supply Chains to Meet New Demands for Customer Centricity and Speedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/SCM-2015-Keynote-Hans-Thalbauer
Watch the keynote by Hans Thalbauer, Senior Vice President, Exended Supply Chain, SAP, from the Logistics and SCM 2015, Manufacturing 2015 and Procurement 2015 conference in Las Vegas.<br /> <br />Thu, 09 Apr 2015 13:50:00 GMTThe Possibilities of the Internet of Thingshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/Introduction-to-Internet-of-Everything
<p>Watch this video for insight into Cisco&rsquo;s vision of the $14.4 trillion opportunity for data-driven intelligence from connected people, processes, data, and things in an Internet of Everything.</p>Mon, 06 Apr 2015 06:48:00 GMTKey Considerations and Strategies for Developing a Rock-Solid Business Case for Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/business-case-for-cloud-HANA-2015
Pavan Srivastava of Deloitte on key considerations, concepts, and strategies that you might employ to develop the ROI and business case around cloud computing, presented at HANA 2015Mon, 06 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTKey Considerations and Strategies for Developing a Financially Sound Plan for SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/April/developing-financially-sound-plan-for-SAP-HANA
Capgemini's Sean Moore reviews the costs associated with SAP HANA deployments, including the long-term costs of deploying SAP HANA in various formats, such as cloud.&nbsp; This session was recorded at HANA 2015 in Las Vegas.Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:00:00 GMTRise and Shine: "Project Freshstart" Energizes Distributorhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2015/April/IP-Project-Freshstart-energizes-National-DCP
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Take a detailed look at &ldquo;Project Freshstart&rdquo;, a multi-year, enterprise-wide systems overhaul from National DCP &ndash; the exclusive distributor for Dunkin&rsquo; Donuts &ndash; that aimed to improve customer service, drive supply chain efficiencies, and lower sustainable costs, among other goals. SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA is the solution at the core of the project, which also includes SAP Cloud for&nbsp;Service and an Ariba implementation. </p>Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMTBlueprint Still Matters! The Importance of Common Design in a Cloud-Centric Worldhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/blueprint-still-matters-design-cloud-centric-world-capgemini-hr2015
Presented live at the SAPinsider HR 2015 conference in Las Vegas, this session examines the value of common design and key principles you should follow whenever you embark on a new, or enhanced, cloud, hybrid, or side-by-side implementation of an HCM solution.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTReporting on SAP BW without BEx: Q&A on SAP BusinessObjects Analysis and WebI Best Practices and Capabilitieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/March/QA-with-Tom-Kornfeld-on-WebI-and-Analysis-for-BW-Reporting
What is the case for migrating away from SAP Business Explorer, and how does BEx compare to SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence or the Analysis tools? BusinessObjects expert Tom Kornfeld takes readers&rsquo; questions on replacing BEx and scenarios for using WebI, Analysis for OLAP and Analysis for Microsoft Office.Thu, 26 Mar 2015 04:13:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Clemens Praendl on SAP Lumira Edge and SAP Predictive Analytics 2.0http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/BI-HANA-2015-Clemens-Praendl-discusses-SAP-Lumira-Edge
Clemens Praendl, SAP Senior Vice President and GM, Analytics, visits SAPinsider Studio to discuss the new releases announced at SAPinsider BI-HANA 2015: SAP Lumira Edge and SAP Predictive Analytics 2.0.Thu, 26 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Dr. Berg on DMO for SAP BW powered by SAP HANA migrationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/BI-HANA-2015-Dr-Berg-on-DMO-in-Software-Update-Manager
Dr. Berg of Comerit visits with SAPinsider Studio during the BI-HANA conference to discuss DMO (Database Migration Option) in an SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) powered by SAP HANA migration.Thu, 26 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTNicolas Henry on Making the Case for an SAP BI Center of Excellencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/March/Nicolas-Henry-on-BI-and-COEs
<p>Nicolas Henry shares practical advice on first steps to getting started with BI project, tips for building a Center of Excellence for SAP BI systems, and the impact of CoEs on project costs and timelines.</p>Wed, 25 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Newell Rubbermaid Shares Mobility Journeyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/BI-HANA-2015-Newell-Rubbermaid-shares-mobility-roadmap
Newell Rubbermaid Senior Manager of SAP Mobility and Portal, Mohammed Siddiqui, joins SAPinsider's Ken Murphy at SAPinsider Studio during the SAPinsider BI-HANA 2015 conference in Las Vegas to discuss his company's mobility strategy and roadmap.Wed, 25 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTNational Vision's BI Journey with SAP BusinessObjects Comes into Focushttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/National-Vision-a-BI-journey-with-SAP-BusinessObjects
National Vision CIO John Vaught visits with SAPinsider's Ken Murphy to discuss the company's business intelligence journey that centered on SAP BusinessObjects.Tue, 24 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMT"Simplifying Finance in an Increasingly Complex World": Financials and GRC 2015 Keynote with <br>Thack Brownhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Thack-Brown-Keynote-Financials2015
Watch the keynote by Thack Brown, Senior Vice President, General Manager and Global Head Line of Business Finance, SAP, presented at the Financials and GRC 2015 conferences in Las Vegas.Fri, 20 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTJohn Appleby on HANA's Evolution and SAP S/4HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/March/John-Appleby-on-S4HANA
John Appleby, SAP Mentor and Global Head of SAP HANA for Bluefin Solutions, shares his perspectives on changing customer perception of SAP HANA, HANA 2015, and what the S/4HANA release means for customers and SAP.Tue, 17 Mar 2015 04:00:00 GMTDeloitte Technology Trends Keynote: Strengthening the Core for Future Innovationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Technology-Trends-Keynote-HANA-BI-Admin-2015
In this panel, &nbsp;three Deloitte leaders &mdash; Bill Briggs, CTO, Jan Waals, Global SAP Practice Leader and Jag Bandla, SAP HANA and Cloud Leader &mdash; &nbsp;discuss an array of macro-technology forces: digital, analytics, cloud, the renaissance of core systems, cyber security, and the changing role of IT within the enterprise. Watch this keynote from SAP's HANA, BI, and Basis &amp; SAP Administration 2015 conferences for new insights on innovations that affect way we lead our lives and run our businesses, based on findings from Deloitte&rsquo;s annual Tech Trends reports.<br />Fri, 13 Mar 2015 21:57:00 GMTSAPinsider's Cloud Keynote Panel: Advice & Tips on the Infrastructure and Business Impact of Cloud Innovationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Cloud-Panel-from-HANA-BI-Admin-2015
Watch this panel discussion with Ken Tsai of SAP, Sean Moore of Capgemini, and Krishnakant Dave of Deloitte on&nbsp; &ldquo;Cloud: What, Why, and How?&rdquo; &nbsp;from the BI, HANA and Basis &amp; SAP Administration 2015 conference.Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:51:00 GMTHR 2015 Cloud Panel: The What, Why, and How of Building a Cloud Strategy for Your HR Organizationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/HR-2015-Cloud-Panel
Watch the discussion from the HR 2015 panel &ldquo;Cloud: What, Why, and How&rdquo; with SAP&rsquo;s David Ludlow, Roland Cloutier of ADP, Jan Redmond of Capgemini, and Megan Masoner of &nbsp;NTT DATA from the conference keynote stage in Las Vegas.Thu, 12 Mar 2015 13:39:00 GMT"The New Opportunity for Business Transformation": BI, HANA, and Basis & SAP Administration 2015 Keynote by SAP CTO Quentin Clarkhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Quentin-Clark-Keynote-BI-HANA-Admin-2015
Watch this keynote address from SAP CTO Quentin Clark, presented at SAPinsider&rsquo;s BI, HANA, and Basis &amp; SAP Administration 2015 events.<br />Thu, 12 Mar 2015 02:23:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: SAP's Quentin Clark on SAP S/4HANA, Deeper Analytics, and the Path Ahead for SAP Customershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Quentin-Clark-BI-HANA-Admin-2015-Interview
SAP CTO Quentin Clark joins SAPinsider Studio following his keynote presentation at SAPinsider's BI, HANA, and Basis &amp; SAP Administration 2015 conferences.Thu, 12 Mar 2015 01:20:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: SAP's Mike Ettling on the Cloud Journey for Customers, HR Technology, and Service Deliveryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Mike-Ettling-Interview-HR-2015
Mike Ettling, President: HR Line of Business, SAP, joins SAPinsider Studio following his keynote at HR 2015 in Las Vegas.Wed, 11 Mar 2015 15:05:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: David Ludlow on Cloud Lessons for Customers from HR 2015http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/David-Ludlow-from-HR-2015
SAP's David Ludlow shares insights from his discussions with SAP customers at HR 2015 on evaluating a move from core HR on-premise SAP solutions to the cloud.Fri, 06 Mar 2015 19:40:00 GMTMike Ettling from HR 2015: How moving your HR to the Cloud is like the game "Snakes and Ladders"http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Mike-Ettling-HR-2015-Keynote
Watch the keynote from HR 2015, presented by Mike Ettling, President: HR Line of Business, SAP/SuccessFactors.Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:19:00 GMTThe Value of a Vibrant Ecosystemhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2015/February/the-value-of-a-vibrant-ecosystem-SAP-regional-partner-excellence-awards-serve-as-powerful-reminder
A brief review of SAP's Regional Partner Excellence Awards for 2015 serves as a compelling reminder of the value of a rich partner ecosystem.Mon, 23 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMTThe Latest on Moving to SAP GRC 10.x: Q&A with James Roeskehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/February/QA-with-James-Roeske-on-SAP-GRC-10x
How has SAP GRC offering changed with the 10.0 and 10.1 releases, and what are the biggest differentiators between the two?&nbsp; GRC 2015 speaker and compliance expert James Roeske takes readers' questions in an online Q&amp;A on&nbsp; Access Control 10.x.Thu, 19 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMTVirtualization for SAP HANA and SAP Systems: Q&A with Kurt Hollishttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/February/QA-with-Kurt-Hollis-on-virtualization-with-SAP-systems-and-HANA
Why move your SAP systems to a virtualized environment? What are your options for virtualization with SAP HANA? Consultant Kurt Hollis takes readers&rsquo; questions on virtualizing SAP systems, announcements of SAP HANA support for virtualization, tools to maximize resources, and best practices for high availability and disaster recovery in a virtualized environment.Thu, 12 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMTCharting Your Course 2015: Nathan Williams on SAP Solution Managerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2015/January/Charting-Your-Course-2015-Nathan-Williams-on-SAP-Solution-Manager
SAP Solution Manager expert and consultant Nathan Williams joins SAPinsider to discuss&nbsp;the SAP Solution Manager 2014 year-in-review and what to expect in 2015.Fri, 30 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTKnow Your BI Upgrade & Integration Options: Q&A with SAP on BusinessObjects BI 4.1 Migration, Interoperability, and Compatibilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/January/QA-on-SAP-BI-41-Integration-and-Interoperability
What key native integration comes with SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 tools and technology? What is the latest on system compatibility? SAP&rsquo;s Sathish Rajagopal, Harjeet Judge, and Maheshwar Singh take&nbsp; reader questions on 4.1 in a live Q&amp;A.Thu, 29 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTA comprehensive guide to SAP's cloud analytics roadmaphttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/A-comprehensive-guide-to-SAPs-cloud-analytics-roadmap
<p>This session outlines SAP's cloud analytics strategy and provides recommendations for choosing the most appropriate cloud deployment model and technical architecture based on business objectives and requirements. Attendees will:</p> <ul> <li>Get a detailed overview of SAP's analytics cloud solutions, including SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.x and SAP Lumira in both SaaS and IaaS versions</li> <li>Learn how you can take advantage of zero-footprint deployments or even a hybrid solution that integrates with your existing BI environment</li> <li>Hear about the future direction of SAP cloud analytic applications and get guidance to align your organization's BI roadmap and future investments to it</li> </ul>Thu, 29 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Jeff Nash of Lockheed Martin on Project Management Best Practiceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/Reporting2014-Jeff-Nash-of-Lockheed-Martin-on-project-management-best-practices
Jeff Nash, Technical Operations Manager for Lockheed Martin, visits with SAPinsider Studio during Project Management 2014 to discuss some project management best practices.Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTFrom BEx to What's Next: Q&A with Tammy Powlas on Moving from SAP Business Explorer to the Latest BI Toolshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2015/January/QA-with-Tammy-Powlas-on-Tools-for-BEx-Customers
SAP Business Explorer tools are now in maintenance mode, but what does that mean for your current and future BEx queries? Can BEx Analyzer coexist with tools like Design Studio or Analysis? SAP Mentor and BI 2015 speaker Tammy Powlas takes reader questions in this live Q&amp;A on transitioning from BEx to BI tools including Design Studio, Analysis and Lumira.Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTInteractive Workshop: Expert Recommendations for Picking the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Solution for Your Reporting and Dashboarding Needshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/expert-recommendations-for-picking-the-right-SAP-BusinessObjects-BI-solution
<p>Examine each of the solutions in the latest SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolio &mdash; including new releases and updates &mdash; and evaluate their capabilities and suitability to meet specific reporting and dashboarding requirements. Attendees will walk through the tool selection process and learn:</p> <ul> <li>Why some solutions are not appropriate for certain reporting and analytic scenarios, such as high-level management KPIs or detailed, drill-down analyses</li> <li>How various SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions can be integrated and leveraged in a complementary manner, and the effort and cost required to do so</li> <li>When it makes sense to use multiple tools in conjunction with one another, including how to prioritize which tool to use when you can only choose one</li> </ul>Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTAn A-to-Z Guide to Planning and Executing an SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 Upgradehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/An-A-to-Z-guide-to-planning-and-executing-an-SAP-BusinessObjects-BI-4-1-upgrade
<p>This in-depth jumpstart session, recorded live at SAPinsider&rsquo;s Reporting &amp; Analytics 2014 event, will teach you what it takes to successfully upgrade to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1. Based on his real-word experience, the presenter shares proven techniques to ensure your BI 4.1 landscape is not only technically sound, but optimized to drive maximum ROI.</p>Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTSAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1: Product Updates, Technical Considerations, and Future Planshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/SAP-BusinessObjects-BI-4-1-product-updates-technical-considerations-and-future-plans
<p>This session examines the most up-to-date SAP BusinessObjects BI roadmap information and provides insight into how the latest offerings may fit within your existing BI landscape. Hear critical information directly from SAP, including:</p> <ul> <li>The various ways SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 solutions can be used to help drive enterprise-wide BI deployments with support for non-SAP data sources, including Apache Hadoop, Apache Hive, and Amazon Elastic MapReduce</li> <li>An overview of the latest developments in advanced analytics, from enhancements to SAP Predictive Analysis to innovations around SAP InfiniteInsight</li> <li>Leading strategies and common use case scenarios for leveraging SAP Lumira to enable agile visualizations that present data at a glance</li> <li>Next steps in the SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 strategy and roadmap</li> </ul>Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTLive Demo: An Up-Close Look at SAP Lumirahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/live-demo-an-up-close-look-at-SAP-Lumira
<p>This session steps through live system demos and provides insight into how SAP Lumira can be used to reduce reliance on IT for ad hoc analysis and interactive visualization by empowering users with direct data access.</p>Tue, 13 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Kaushik Banerjee of SAP on SAP Release Strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/January/Reporting2014-Kaushik-Banerjee-on-SAP-release-strategy
<p>SAP Project Manager Kaushik Banerjee visits with SAPinsider during SAPinsider's 2014 Project Mangement conference in Atlanta to discuss how to develop and execute an effective release strategy.</p>Mon, 12 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMTWhat to Really Expect from SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA: Q&A with Juan Carlos Martinez-Gilhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/December/QA-on-what-to-expect-from-SAP-Business-Suite-on-HANA
Moving to SAP Business Suite to SAP HANA comes with high expectations for faster runtime and process improvements - and it's far more than simply a technical migration. What practical steps can you take to achieve short-term benefits, sidestep common pitfalls, and plan for long-term business innovation resulting from a move to Suite on HANA? Capgemini&rsquo;s Juan Carlos Martinez-Gil takes reader questions in this online Q&amp;A.Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMTSetting a Strategy for Your SAP HANA Investment: <br>Q&A with Anita Paul and Amit Chakravartihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/December/QA-on-Setting-Strategy-for-SAP-HANA-Investment
When you take the first steps toward SAP HANA implementation, what are strategies to minimize risk and invest in the targeted innovations for your business needs?&nbsp; HP&rsquo;s Anita Paul and Amit Chakravarti take readers&rsquo; questions on key decision points in a move to SAP HANA.Tue, 09 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMTThe New Role of SAP Solution Manager for Business and the Cloud: Wences Lacaze and Benjamin Rouger on SolManhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/December/Lacaze-and-Rouger-on-SAP-Solution-Manager
What are customers overlooking in their current SAP Solution Manager implementation? SAP Mentor and consultant Wences Lacaze and fellow SAP Solution Manager expert Benjamin Rouger spoke with us on the SAP TechEd / d-code show floor about Solution Manager as companies look toward HANA, cloud, and hybrid deployments,Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMTTransform Your Applications to Prepare for the Digital Futurehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/December/transform-your-applications-to-prepare-for-the-digital-future
<p>To stay competitive in today&rsquo;s rapidly changing environment, companies need to transform their business processes to meet customers&rsquo; rising expectations and realize that software is a strategic asset. Discover how you can evolve your technology to gain agility and reduce costs.</p>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Nathan Sharp of Siemens Energy Discusses Worksofthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/November/Reporting-2014-Nathan-Sharp-of-Siemens-Energy-on-Worksoft-implementation
<p>Nathan Sharp, Project Manager at Siemens Energy, joins SAPinsider Studio at Project Management 2014 to discuss the benefits Worksoft Certify has brought to the corporation's testing environment.</p>Thu, 20 Nov 2014 05:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: Clemens Praendl on Analytics in the Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/October/Reporting-2014_Clemens-Praendl-on-analytics-and-cloud
<p>SAPinsider Studio&nbsp;sits down&nbsp;with Clemens Praendl, SAP Senior Vice President and General Manager, Analytics, after Praendl's keynote presentation at the SAPinsider Reporting and Analytics event in Atlanta, on Oct. 27.</p>Tue, 28 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMTReporting and Analytics 2014 Keynote Address with SAP's Clemens Praendlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/October/SAPinsider-Reporting-and-Analytics-2014-Keynote
<p>In this keynote presentation, Clemens Praendl (@CPraendl), SAP's new Senior Vice President and Global General Manager, SAP Analytics, addresses the audience at SAPinsider&rsquo;s Reporting &amp; Analytics 2014 INTERACTIVE, Project Management 2014, and Planning &amp; Performance Management for SAP Customers events in Atlanta, Georgia.</p>Tue, 28 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMTPete Lagana on Fiori and User Experience: UX Is Now "In the Driver's Seat"http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/October/Pete-Lagana-on-Fiori-and-changing-SAP-UIs
<p>Pete Lagana spoke to us on user experience and UIs at SAP TechEd &amp;&amp; d-Code and shares his assessment of Fiori, Open UI5,&nbsp; and new possibilities for SAP applications.</p>Mon, 27 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BusinessObjects Design Studio: What's New in Version 1.4http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/October/SAP-BusinessObjects-Design-Studio-what-is-new
<p>In this blog, Dr. Berg and Brandon Lucaciu take a close look at the interesting new features in version 1.4 of SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio.</p>Mon, 27 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMTKurt Hollis on Managing SAP HANA: Virtualization and Disaster Recovery for In-Memory Computinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/October/Kurt-Hollis-on-HANA-and-virtualization
<p>SAP expert Kurt Hollis takes time at SAP TechEd &amp; d-Code to speak on the new options for SAP HANA virtualization and VMware.&nbsp;</p>Mon, 27 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: The Future of SAP's HR Solutions with Prashanth Padmanabhanhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/October/HR-2014-Singapore-Prashanth-Padmanabhan
<p>In this interview recorded live at HR 2014 in Singapore, Prashanth Padmanabhan, Senior Director of Solution Management at SAP, provides insight on where SAP&nbsp;stands currently&nbsp;in the HR space, and where it is headed in the future.</p>Thu, 23 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMTThe Latest on BI Innovations from SAP: Q&A with Nic Smith and Venkatesh Vaidyanathan on SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/October/QA-with-Smith-and-Vaidyanathan-on-SAP-BI-41
What are the key integration points built in to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1, and what will they mean in practical terms for your current BI and SAP technology investments? SAP&rsquo;s Nic Smith and Venkatesh Vaidyanathan take reader questions on BI 4.1 integration options in a live Q&amp;A.Wed, 08 Oct 2014 16:30:00 GMTWhat's Ahead for SAP Payroll Solutions & Processes? Q&A with SAP Experts Advisor Steve Bognerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/September/QA-with-Steve-Bogner-on-SAP-Payroll
With all the changes coming to HR solutions for SAP customers, what will the impact be on SAP Payroll? HR Experts advisor and HCM expert Steve Bogner takes reader questions on SAP Payroll and shares technical tips on payroll processes in this Q&amp;A.Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP's B-TECH: Anything But Old Schoolhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/September/SAP-B-TECH
A look at SAP's newly-opened high school, B-TECH, and the importance of investment in STEM education.Thu, 25 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMTReliant Powers Up Business Process Testinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2014/September/IP-Reliant-powers-up-business-process-testing
<p>Learn how Reliant Energy uncovered significant time and cost savings through an implementation of Worksoft Certify. By leveraging Worksoft to create a scalable testing automation capability and a repository of re-usable scripts, Reliant has vastly diminished the resources required by its complex testing environment while simultaneously improving business process quality overall.</p>Mon, 22 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMTWhat's Next for SAP Transportation Management? Q&A on the Latest SAP TM - SAP EWM Integration Options with Dominik Metzgerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/September/QA-with-Dominik-Metzger-on-SAP-TM-and-EWM-integration
How will new integration options change your current SAP Transportation Management and SAP Extended Warehouse Management capabilities? What are the master data and system requirements for a successful SAP TM and SAP EWM integration project? SCM 2014 speaker Dominik Metzger takes readers&rsquo; questions in this live chat on TM and EWM integration to streamline logistics and supply chain execution.Tue, 09 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMTInsights on Learning with Venki Krishnamoorthyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/September/VenkiKonLearning
In this podcast,&nbsp;HR 2014 presenter&nbsp;Venki Krishnamoorthy discusses the various learning solutions available to SAP customers.Wed, 03 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMTReveal USA's Sean Elliffe on What "Run Simple" Means for SCMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/August/Sean-Elliffe-on-Simple-for-SCM
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In this podcast, Sean Elliffe of Reveal USA&nbsp;discusses how new technologies like SAP HANA, cloud, and analytics can simplify the move to real-time supply chain.</p>Fri, 29 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: Sustainable Supply Chain Panel with Deanice Jones and Matthew Campbellhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/August/SCM-2014-Dairy-Farmers-and-SCM02-on-Sustainble-Supply-Chain
<p>Deanice Jones of Dairy Farmers of America and Matt Campbell of SCMO2 discuss sustainable supply chain strategy at SCM 2014 in Las Vegas.</p>Wed, 27 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTGo Beyond Transactional Planning to Effective Supply Chain Executionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/August/SCM_Grobler
<p>In this podcast Joseph Grobler,&nbsp;COO of Reveal USA&nbsp;and presenter at <a href="http://sco-live.wispubs.com/" target="_blank">Supply Chain Optimization Live</a>, shares basic techniques on how to better understand supply chain planning and operations within SAP systems.</p>Wed, 27 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTWhat SAP Lumira Means for BI Data: Q&A with Dr. Berg on SAP HANA, Mobility & Data Integration with Self-Service Visualizationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/August/QA-with-Dr-Berg-on-SAP-Lumira
<p>SAP Lumira is designed for your power users, but what about all that data flowing in and out of any of these modern, self-service visualizations? &nbsp;How does Lumira support shared data sets, integration with SAP BI tools and SAP HANA, mobile deployment and data collection? Dr. Bjarne Berg and colleagues take readers&rsquo; questions on the next steps and new tools for SAP Lumira.</p> <p>Dive deeper into SAP Lumira with guidance from <a href="http://sapexperts.wispubs.com/BI/Search?q=lumira&amp;utm_source=sapinsider&amp;utm_medium=lpoct&amp;utm_content=lumiraq%2526a&amp;utm_campaign=octobercta" target="_blank">BI Expert</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTWhat's the Latest on Packaged Integrations & Deployment Models for SAP ERP HCM & SuccessFactors? Q&A with SAP's Prashanth Padmanabhanhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/August/QA-with-Prashanth-Padmanabhan-packaged-integrations-SuccessFactors-SAP-ERP-HCM
<p>In this Q&amp;A coinciding with the SuccessFactors August release, SAP&rsquo;s Prashanth Padmanabhan takes readers&rsquo; questions on new packaged integrations, &nbsp;support for &ldquo;hybrid&rdquo; vs. &ldquo;side-by-side&rdquo; deployment models for SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors integration, along with a look ahead to plans for the November release and the broader integration roadmap.</p>Wed, 20 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTCan't-Miss Tips to Making the Most of SAP Extended Warehouse Managementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/August/EY_Sorensen_on_SAP-EWM
In this podcast,&nbsp;<a href="http://scm2015.wispubs.com/LasVegas/Search/?u=LPNOV-&amp;s=&amp;q=sorensen&amp;x=0&amp;y=0&amp;utm_source=sapinsider&amp;utm_medium=lpnov&amp;utm_content=sorensenewmpodcast&amp;utm_campaign=novembercta" target="_blank">Logistics and SCM 2015 </a>speaker Kyle Sorensen reviews the most underutilized functionality within SAP Extended Warehouse Management.Tue, 19 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTGRC 2014 Preview: How to Build Business Engagement for GRC Initiativeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/August/how-to-build-GRC-business-engagement
<p>This blog gives tips on how to improve business ownership of security and controls, such as having a solid change management plan from the beginning, designing from the end-users point of view, and making processes as simple as possible.</p>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTWhere Does ABAP Fit into a Changing SAP Landscape? Q&A with SAP Mentor James Woodhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/August/QA-with-James-Wood-on-ABAP-and-the-changing-SAP-landscape
<p>SAP HANA, SAP UI5, Fiori, the cloud, and mobile devices are also shaping application development and developers&rsquo; tools and skills. So what does this mean for the future of ABAP and the next generation of applications? <em>SAP Professional Journal</em> author and SAP Mentor James Wood takes reader questions on what&rsquo;s next for developers in a changing SAP landscape. &nbsp;</p>Tue, 12 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTWebI, Lumira, Design Studio… What's Next? Q&A on BI Tools Selection with SAP Mentors Joshua Fletcher and Clint Vosloohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/August/QA-with-Fletcher-and-Vosloo-on-BI-tools-selection
<p>With the introduction of SAP Design Studio and Lumira, what&rsquo;s next for your dashboard and BI reporting, and your current dashboard development work with tools like SAP Dashboards (formerly Xcelsius), Webi or Business Explorer? SAP Mentors Joshua Fletcher and Clint Vosloo take readers&rsquo; questions in this online Q&amp;A.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 07 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMTBI Beat: Clint Vosloo and Ethan Jewett Discuss the True Logical Data Warehousehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/July/BI-Beat-Data-Warehouses-with-Ethan-Jewett-and-Clint-Vosloo
In this podcast, SAP mentors Clint Vosloo and Ethan Jewett discuss the definition of a true logical data warehouse and how far from it we are today.Fri, 25 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP Lumira - An Introductionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/July/Intro-to-SAP-Lumira-by-Dr-Berg
Last year SAP enhanced their tool called Visual Intelligence and renamed it Lumira. In this blog Dr. Berg takes a quick look at some of the features of this cool tool and provide a couple of demos.Tue, 22 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMTData-Driven Manufacturing Is Becoming a Two-Way Streethttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/July/Data-Driven-Manufacturing
A blog post reviewing how manufacturers are leveraging data and analytics to improve manufacturing.Tue, 08 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMTBenchmarking SAP Systems: Top 10 Surpriseshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/July/benchmarking-sap-systems-top-10-surprises
Watch this 15 minute webinar to uncover the 10 most common SAP customer misconceptions gathered from more than 4,000 benchmarking projects. You'll find out where to make changes to improve system performance, how to safely reduce costs, and the proper metrics required to build consensus on taking action.Thu, 03 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMTCapital Request Processes at Moen Now Flow as Smoothly as Water from a Faucethttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2014/July/IP-capital-request-processes-now-flow-smoothly-at-Moen
<p>Learn how kitchen and bath product manufacturer Moen recently streamlined its formerly cumbersome paper-based capital expense request (CER) process. See how new solutions implemented have saved Moen&rsquo;s business users considerable time and effort, and have rendered the CER process far more transparent, intuitive, and traceable</p>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 23:00:00 GMTSAP Mentor Pete Lagana Presents: Succeeding with SAP Fiorihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/June/Excellis_SAP-Fiori
<p>In this video presentation SAP Mentor Pete Lagana of Excellis Corp. provides a deep dive on SAP Fiori, exclusively for SAPinsider viewers.&nbsp;</p> <ul> </ul>Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTWatch the SAPinsider BI 2014 Keynote from Nice, Francehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/June/SAPinsider-BI-2014-Nice-Keynote
SAP's Stephane Le Cam and Shekhar Iyer deliver the keynote presentation at BI 2014 in Nice, FranceFri, 20 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTAdopting a Modern, Unified Workplace with Microsoft and SAP Solutions: Q&A with Markus Dopp and Markus von Aschoffhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/June/QA-with-Dopp-and-von-Aschoff-on-unified-workplace-for-Microsoft-and-SAP
What steps can you take across your systems &ndash; including SAP ERP, Microsoft SharePoint, O365, and mobile &ndash; to offer a unified experience regardless of the system or environment in which they work? In this online Q&amp;A, readers ask their questions&nbsp; bringing together SAP and Microsoft solutions for a more collaborative and unified workplace environment.&nbsp;Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTTop Considerations for Running SAP Production Environments in the Cloud: Q&A with Joe Gallegohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/June/QA-with-Kichler-Gallego-on-running-SAP-in-the-cloud
<p>For SAP customers looking to cloud &nbsp;for faster provisioning and greater flexibility for SAP production environments, and especially so as organizations look ahead to SAP HANA deployment. IBM's Joe Gallego took reader&nbsp;questions on&nbsp;first steps, SLAs, and key&nbsp;considerations&nbsp;when planning to move your SAP production environment to the cloud. </p>Wed, 18 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTWhat Is New in Design Studio 1.3? Q&A with the Authors of Getting Started with SAP BusinessObjects Design Studiohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/June/QA-with-Hacking-and-van-der-A-on-SAP-BusinessObjects-Design-Studio
<p>How does SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio 1.3 compare to SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards (formerly Xcelsius), Analysis for Office, and BEx WAD? What are the new features in Design Studio 1.3? Xavier Hacking and Jeroen van der A, the authors of Getting Started with SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio, take readers' questions in this online Q&amp;A.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTBI Beat: Ethan Jewett on BI Front Ends Past, Present, and Futurehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/June/BI-Beat-Ethan-Jewett
<p>In this installment of BI Beat, SAP mentor and BI consultant Ethan Jewett discusses the latest in BI front ends and the impact SAP Fiori could have on the expansion of BI initiatives in the SAP space.&nbsp;</p>Mon, 16 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTIntegrating SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors: Q&A with Prashanth Padmanabhan on the SAP Roadmap and Strategy for HRhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/June/QA-with-Prashanth-Padmanabhan-SAP-HCM-and-SuccessFactors-integration
<p style="text-autospace: ;">As HR systems continue to evolve toward the cloud, what are options for your SAP ERP HCM solutions?&nbsp; SAP's Prashanth Padmanabhan takes readers' questions on SAP&nbsp; ERP HCM and SuccessFactors integration strategy and roadmap.</p>Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAPinsider Keynote: Creating the Platform for Innovationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/June/SAPinsider-Nice-Keynote-Rodatus-Khan
<p>Christian Rodatus, SVP &amp; GM, SAP Analytics and Irfan Khan, SVP &amp; GM, SAP Database &amp; Technology and Big Data, deliver the keynote address at the SAPinsider conference in Nice, France.&nbsp;</p>Wed, 11 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTIn Praise of KISS (Keep it Simple SAP)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/June/Sapphire-Now-gives-simple
<p>In this blog post, SAPinsider's Dave Hannon examines the trends behind SAP's simplification strategy and the benefits customers may realize from it.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 10 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTWatch the Financials 2014 Keynote Presentation from Nice, Francehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/June/SAPinsider-Financials-2014-Keynote-Nice
Watch Kai Finck, SVP, Office of the CFO Solutions at SAP, deliver the Financials 2014 keynote presentation recorded live in Nice, France.Fri, 06 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive Streaming From SAPPHIRE NOW 2014http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/June/SAPPHIRE-Streaming
Watch&nbsp;SAP's feed of&nbsp;select sessions from the SAPPHIRE NOW conference from Tuesday June 3 through Thursday June 5.Thu, 05 Jun 2014 04:00:00 GMTExplore SAPinsider Onlinehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/May/explore-sapinsider-online
<p>Access a wealth of free information, including articles, case studies, Q&amp;As, white papers, and more.</p>Fri, 30 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BusinessObjects Design Studio: What's New in Version 1.3http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/May/Berg-on-Design-Studio-2
<p>In the second post in the series, Dr. Berg and&nbsp;Brandon Lucaciu&nbsp;take a deep look at what's new in the latest version of SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 22 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTContract Lifecycle Management: Comparing Ariba and SAPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/May/Parthasarathy-on-CLM
<span style="font-size: 13px;">In this blog Parthasarathy A of Bristlecone compares the contract lifecycle management solution offerings available to SAP customers. </span>Tue, 20 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: Steve Biskie and Kevin McCollom Talk SAP GRC Roadmaphttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/May/GRC-2014-Kevin-McCollom-and-Steve-Biskie
SAP's VP and GM of GRC Solutions Kevin McCollom stops by the SAPinsider Studio during GRC 2014 in Orlando to talk with Steve Biskie of High Water Advisors about SAP's roadmap and strategy for GRC solutions.Fri, 16 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP HANA Migration Options: Q&A with Frank Powell on Technical Considerations in a Move to SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/May/QA-with-Frank-Powell-on-SAP-HANA-migration-options
<p>In this online Q&amp;A, Frank Powell of Symmetry Corp. takes readers' questions on evaluating the various SAP HANA implementation scenarios and requirements, and key issues and challenges of HANA migration.</p>Wed, 14 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BusinessObjects Design Studio - A Beginner's Guidehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/May/Berg-on-Design-Studio
<p>In this blog Dr. Berg takes a look at the features of Design Studio, exploring the basic functions and also look at the capabilities of this new interesting tool from SAP.</p>Tue, 13 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTEnd-to-End Analytics on SAP HANA: Q&A with Arun Narayanan on Predictive Analysis and BI Tools Selectionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/May/QA-with-Arun-Narayanan-on-analytics-and-BI-tools-for-SAP-HANA
How will SAP HANA drive our BI tools selection and roadmap considerations for Webi, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, Dashboards, Design Studio, Predictive Analysis, or SAP Lumira? In this online Q&amp;A, BI experts Arun Narayanan and Shayam Avvari take readers' questions&nbsp;about front-end analytics options and what an SAP HANA implementation will mean from an analytics perspective.Wed, 07 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: Panel Discussion on ESS and MSS Hosted by Jeremy Mastershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/May/HR-2014-ESS-MSS-Panel-with-Jeremy-Masters
Jeremy Masters of Worklogix hosts a panel discussion entitled the "Dos and Dont's of ESS and MSS" live from HR 2014 in Orlando.Fri, 02 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTPlanning the Infrastructure for Your SAP HANA Environment: Q&A with Ryan D'Costa and Scott McCulloughhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/May/QA-Ryan-DCosta-and-Scott-McCullough-IT-infrastructure-for-SAP-HANA
<p>What are the key decision points for the IT infrastructure that will support SAP HANA? Fujitsu&rsquo;s Ryan D&rsquo;Costa and NetApp&rsquo;s Scott McCullough take reader questions on topics from IT optimization to &nbsp;storage, infrastructure, and data recovery in this online Q&amp;A.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 01 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTAn Insider's Look at the SAP Mentor Programhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/May/SAP-Mentors-In-Depth
<p>SAPinsider's Ken Murphy takes a detailed look at what SAP mentors are (and are not) in this exclusive podcast, which includes interviews with several SAP mentors and the program's co-founder. </p>Thu, 01 May 2014 04:00:00 GMTManaging Technical Monitoring within SAP Solution Manager 7.1 and CCMS: Q&A with Jereme Swobodahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/April/QA-with-Jereme-Swoboda-on-SAP-Solution-Manager-71-System-Monitoring
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">With release 7.1, SAP Solution Manager offers Technical Monitoring and a number of ways to monitor your systems. Join our online Q&amp;A and ask your questions on configuring Technical Monitoring, preparing for CCMS migration to 7.1, and how some companies might continue to use CCMS with 7.1.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>Thu, 24 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTBI Beat: Josh Fletcher on Internal Selling of BI Initiativeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/April/BI-Beat-Josh-Fletcher
<p>BI architect and SAP mentor Josh Fletcher provides tips and strategic advice to getting BI initiatives advanced in your organization. </p>Fri, 18 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: Steve Lucas, President SAP Platform Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BI2014-Steve-Lucas-President-SAP-Platform-Solutions
<p>Steve Lucas, President SAP Platform Solutions, joins SAPinsider Studio immediately after delivering the keynote presentation at BI-HANA 2014 in Orlando. Among the discussion points: SAP HANA, SAP Lumira, and the launch of SAP NetWeaver BW 7.4 powered by SAP HANA.</p>Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:47:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider Studio: James Fisher of SAP on Execute, Control, and Predicthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/Financials-2014-James-Fisher-of-SAP
Listen in as James Fisher, VP of Product Marketing, Analytics and Mobility at SAP, describes how technology and skills are evolving to allow finance to become a strategic advisor to the business.Wed, 16 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTImprove planning processes with SAP Business Planning and Consolidation on SAP HANA: Q&A with Scott Cairncrosshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/April/QA-with-Scott-Cairncross-on-SAP-BPC
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Whether you are evaluating&nbsp;the real-time capabilities of SAP BPC on SAP HANA or&nbsp;an upgrade to BPC 10.0/10.1&nbsp;on HANA,&nbsp;Financials 2014 speaker and BPC expert Scott Cairncross takes&nbsp;readers' questions on SAP Business Planning and Consolidation on HANA&nbsp;in this online Q&amp;A.</p>Wed, 16 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: SAP's Shawn Price and David Ludlowhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/HR2014-Shawn-Price-and-David-Ludlow
In this post-keynote interview SAP's Shawn Price and David Ludlow discuss trends in the workforce and how technology can help organizations adapt to the changes.Wed, 16 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTinsiderRESEARCH's HANA Survey Digs In: Does Your Organization Have the Technical Details to Gain Project Approval?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/April/insiderRESEARCH-HANA-Survey
Take a few minutes to fill out this survey on the SAP HANA business case and be entered to win a $250 gift card.Wed, 16 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTWatch the Logistics & SCM, PLM, Manufacturing, and Procurement 2014 Keynote Presentation Featuring Bernd Leukerthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/SCM-2014-Keynote-with-Bernd-Leukert
Watch the replay of the Logistics &amp; SCM, PLM, Manufacturing, and Procurement 2014 keynote presentation recorded live in Las Vegas. In the presentation SAP's Bernd Leukert, Head of Application Innovation and Member of the Global Managing Board at SAP AG, discusses the future of SAP's product strategy.Tue, 15 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: Mike DiClaudio of Towers Watson on HR Service Deliveryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/HR2014-Mike-DiClaudio-on-HR-Service-Delivery-Survey
<p>In this interview recorded live at HR 2014 in Orlando, Mike DiClaudio of Towers Watson discuss the changes in HR services delivery and the results of a recent survey on the topic. </p>Thu, 10 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTLive from the SAPinsider Studio: Jarret Pazahanick on the Future of HCMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/HR2014-Jarret-Pazahanick-Future-of-HCM
<p>Hear Jarret Pazahanick of EIC Experts discuss the future of HCM in light of cloud and on-premise options in this exclusive interview with SAPinsider. </p>Thu, 10 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTJust the Right Dosehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2014/April/IP-just-the-right-dose
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">This article explores AmerisourceBergen&rsquo;s implementation of the applications SAP IT Process Automation by Cisco and SAP Extended Diagnostics by CA Wily for automation of monitoring processes and full end-to-end visibility into its IT infrastructure.</p>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 21:00:00 GMTWatch the BI and HANA 2014 Keynote Featuring Steve Lucashttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BI-HANA-SAP-Administration-2014-Keynote-with-Steve-Lucas
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Watch as Steve Lucas, President, SAP Platform Solutions, presents the keynote address recorded live in Orlando at the BI 2014, HANA 2014 and Basis &amp; SAP Administration 2014 conferences.</p>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:31:00 GMTSAP BW 7.4 Launch: Molson Coors Provides a New Approach to Data Warehousing with SAP BW 7.4 Powered by SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BW-74-Launch-Molson-Coors
Pawel Mierski, Sr. BI Development Lead, and consultant David Theroux-Benoni explain how Molson Coors took a new approach to its BW system using SAP BW powered by SAP HANA. This session was recorded live at BI 2014 in Orlando, Florida.Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BW 7.4 Launch: SAP Business Warehouse on HANA - Status Quo and Roadmap Within the SAP HANA Platform Offeringhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BW-74-Launch-Sigg
In this video, Dr. Stefan Sigg, Senior Vice President, SAP HANA Product and Development, details the next step of delivering data warehousing on the SAP HANA platform.Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BW 7.4 Launch: Reinventing the Data Warehouse with SAP In-Memory Data Fabrichttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BW-74-Launch-McGovern
Neil McGovern, SAP Senior Director, Marketing, provides an overview to SAP's new data warehouse strategy, the SAP In-Memory Data Fabric (IMDF). This session was recorded live at BI 2014 in Orlando, Florida.Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BW 7.4 Launch: Combining the Best of Two Worlds with SAP Business Planning and Consolidation Powered by SAP BW 7.4 on SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BW-74-Launch-Hagedorn
In this video, Dr. Juergen Hagedorn, Vice President, SAP HANA Product Management, explains how customers can fully leverage SAP HANA's computing power to reshape and improve planning applications. This session was recorded live at BI 2014 in Orlando, Florida.Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BW 7.4 Launch: Introduction from Ken Tsai, VP and Head of SAP Data Managementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BW-74-Launch-Intro
SAP's Ken Tsai, VP and Head of SAP Data Management, welcomes attendees to the SAP BW 7.4 launch event during the BI 2014 conference in Orlando, Florida.Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTSAP BW 7.4 Launch: The Evolving Role of the Enterprise Data Warehousehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/April/BW-74-Launch-Forrester
In this video, Noel Yuhanna, Principal Analyst at Forrester, describes&nbsp;how new challenges have impacted the central role of the data warehouse. This session was recorded live at BI 2014 in Orlando, Florida.Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMTWin a 100€ Amazon gift card!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/March/SAPinsider-Event-Winners
<p>Special Sweepstakes for SAPinsider event attendees.</p>Mon, 31 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMTWatch the Financials and GRC 2014 Keynote Presentation On-Demandhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/March/Rodatus-Keynote-Financials-GRC-2014
<br /> Watch as Christian Rodatus, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SAP Analytics, presents the Financials and GRC 2014 keynote presentation recorded live in Orlando.Thu, 20 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMTHR 2014 Keynote Address Featuring SAP's Shawn Price and David Ludlowhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2014/March/HR-2014-Keynote-with-David-Ludlow-and-Shawn-Price
Watch the replay of the HR 2014 keynote address featuring Shawn Price, President of Global Cloud and Line of Business, and David Ludlow, Group Vice President of SAP HCM Solutions, at SAP.Sun, 16 Mar 2014 04:00:00 GMTHR 2014 Review: Keynotes, Sessions, and Selfieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/March/HR-2014-Review-Keynotes-Sessions-and-Selfies
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Highlights and selfies&nbsp;from HR 2014 in Orlando, from keynotes to case studies.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:30:00 GMTSuccessFactors Recruiting Solutions for SAP HR Hybrid and Cloud Deployments: Q&A with Dwight Jones and Gary Fanuccihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/February/our-chat-with-Dwight-Jones-and-Gary-Fanucci-on-SuccessFactors-Recruiting
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">What&rsquo;s the latest on SuccessFactors recruiting solutions and how will these solutions impact your on-premise HCM systems? &nbsp;HR experts Dwight Jones and Gary Fanucci take readers&rsquo; questions in a&nbsp; live online Q&amp;A on the latest on recruiting management solutions from SuccessFactors and options for SAP ERP HCM core customers.</p>Wed, 26 Feb 2014 05:00:00 GMTSAP ERP vs. SAP APO: Matthew Campbell on Selecting the Right Planning Functionalityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/February/SAP-ERP-vs-SAP-APO
Listen in as Matthew Campbell of SCMO2 offers an analysis of the various supply chain planning tools in SAP ERP and SAP APO and provides expert advice for deciding which solution to implement.Tue, 18 Feb 2014 05:00:00 GMTWhat's next for SAP ERP HCM?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/February/Jeremy-Masters-on-HR-2014-SuccessFactors-and-HCM-Roadmap
<p>Jeremy Masters spoke about the key decision points and trends to watch for SAP ERP HCM core customers in this podcast, along with his top questions at the HR 2014 conference this year.</p>Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:05:00 GMTLessons from the Co-CEO: McDermott Addresses Chief Executives in Bostonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/February/Lessons-from-the-Co-CEO
Bill McDermott addressed over 250 chairmen, presidents, and managing partners at Boston College&rsquo;s Chief Executives&rsquo; Club of Boston luncheon on Thursday, February 6, 2014.&nbsp;Learn three key takeaways from his keynote.&nbsp;Fri, 07 Feb 2014 19:00:00 GMTBI Beat: Clint Vosloo on Optimizing Your Data Archiving for BI Performancehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/February/BIBeat_Vosloo
SAP Mentor Clint Vosloo of EV Technologies kicks off the BI Beat podcast series by describing what he sees as the optimal data archiving strategy for BI users today and those considering the jump to SAP HANA.Thu, 06 Feb 2014 05:00:00 GMTWant Faster Financial Close? Get a Baseline on Your Current Processes, People and Technologyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/January/Copy of Building-a-financial-close-acceleration-roadmap-in-SAP
This session from Financials 2013 provides tips for building an SAP financial close process acceleration roadmap that is customized to fit the needs and requirements of your organization.&nbsp;Thu, 30 Jan 2014 17:00:00 GMTWant Faster Financial Close? Get a Baseline on Your Current Processes, People and Technologyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/January/Building-a-financial-close-acceleration-roadmap-in-SAP
This session from Financials 2013 provides tips for building an SAP financial close process acceleration roadmap that is customized to fit the needs and requirements of your organization.&nbsp;Thu, 30 Jan 2014 17:00:00 GMTLeveraging SAP HANA for more efficient financial processeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/January/Birgit-Starmanns-Leveraging-SAP-HANA-for-Finance
<p>Birgit Starmanns, a Senior Director at SAP and a well-known speaker at the SAPInsider Financials events, discusses how SAP HANA can be integrated into a company&rsquo;s financial systems for more efficient accounting and why its a growing trend among companies. </p>Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:46:00 GMTCharting Your Course in 2014: SAP ERP Financialshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/January/Paul-Ovigele-Charting-Your-Course-in-2014-SAP-ERP-Financials
<p dir="ltr">In this podcast, featured speaker and author Paul Ovigele reviews the major 2013 trends in SAP ERP Financials, and what SAP finance users should be looking for in 2014. </p>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 23:37:00 GMTChat with Jeremy Masters on Compensation Management options with SAP and SuccessFactorshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2014/January/our-chat-with-Jeremy-Masters-on-compensation-management-with-SAP-and-SuccessFactors
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">What are your options for deploying SAP compensation management functionality on-premise or in the cloud&nbsp;- and what are the downstream impacts of doing so?&nbsp;Follow our&nbsp;Q&amp;A with HR 2014 speaker Jeremy Masters, covering on the latest compensation management features from SAP and SuccessFactors, we discuss cloud, on-premise and hybrid options for tackling employee pay and budgeting, as well as questions about key features, and extensibility and integration with backend SAP processes.</p>Thu, 16 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMTDetail and Insight Coming Togetherhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/January/Thorsten-Franz-SAP-TechEd-podcast-on-ABAP-and-HANA
SAP Mentor and SAP HANA Distinguished Engineer Thorsten Franz announced in 2013 that his next&nbsp;venture&nbsp;was&nbsp;based on the &ldquo;convergence of OLTP and OLAP.&rdquo;&nbsp;In this interview, Thorsten elaborates on what this convergence really means for the day-to-day needs of the business, discusses&nbsp;his work on ABAP on HANA, and looks at the new conversations and ways of thinking that&nbsp;high-speed&nbsp;processing&nbsp;brings for ABAP developers, IT, and the business.Mon, 13 Jan 2014 19:03:00 GMTA Quick Tour of HANA for Beginnershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2014/January/Dr-Berg-A-Quick-Tour-of-HANA-for-Beginners
Review&nbsp;this quick tour of HANA, where Dr. Berg look at basic navigation, how to build tables, virtual tables, attribute and analytical views.Sun, 05 Jan 2014 12:38:00 GMTCharting Your Course in 2014: CRM And HRhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2014/January/Nucleus-Research-2014-Predictions
SAPinsider recently chatted with Nucleus Research analyst Rebecca Wettemann on the firm's list of the Top 10 predictions for 2014. We also took a look back at Nucleus Research's predictions for 2013 to see which ones panned out.Wed, 01 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMTFor Iberdrola, USA, Real-Time Workforce Scheduling is Just a Click Awayhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2014/January/Iberdrola
<p>This article explores Iberdrola, USA's implementation of SAP Workforce Scheduling and Optimization application by ClickSoftware. The utility company's objective was to standardize work management between its two New York-based branches&nbsp;&mdash; Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&amp;E)&nbsp;and New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), as well as automating scheduling for its NYSEG trouble and outage operations. </p>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMTCharting Your Course in 2014: Logistics and Supply Chainhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/2014Planning_SAPSupplyChain
<p>A one-on-one with Logistar Solutions' CEO Brian Thorn on what he saw in 2013 and what's coming in 2014 for SAP SCM users</p>Thu, 26 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMTCharting Your Course in 2014: GRChttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/2014Planning_SAPGRC
<p>An Insider's discussion with Steve Biskie of High Water Advisors on what he sees ahead for SAP GRC users</p>Thu, 26 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMTCharting Your Course in 2014: SAP HR and SuccessFactorshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/2014Planning_SAPHR
<p>Steve Bogner of Insight Consulting Partners provides reflections and predictions on SAP HR and SuccessFactors</p>Thu, 26 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMTCharting Your Course in 2014: SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/2014Planning_SAPHANA
<p>John Appleby of Bluefin Solutions reviews the year SAP HANA had in 2013 and what to expect in 2014 from SAP HANA</p>Thu, 26 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMTSAP's Karl Kessler shares his outlook and advice for SAP developershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/Karl-Kessler-on-the-SAP-Platform-for-Developers
Karl Kessler sat down at SAP TechEd to talk about development for SAP: the new Web IDE, HANA, mobility, the cloud, and where&nbsp;Java, JavaScript, and ABAP now stand in this picture. Karl&nbsp;also shares a look&nbsp; ahead to what's coming for the SAP NetWeaver platform, a rosy picture for developers, and some advice for seasoned ABAPers and those just starting out in the SAP space.Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:43:00 GMTWhat's new in SuccessFactors for hybrid SAP HR deployments?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/December/our-chat-on-SuccessFactors-for-hybrid-SAP-HR-deployments
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The authors of the SAP PRESS bestseller <em>SuccessFactors&nbsp;with SAP ERP HCM</em>&nbsp;return to chat about&nbsp;the new SuccessFactors features available now, what's coming in 2014, and how&nbsp;these changes&nbsp;will affect your planned and current&nbsp;hybrid SAP HR deployments.</p>Wed, 11 Dec 2013 17:30:00 GMTDemo: SAP HANA and BusinessObjects Explorer with 1.2 Billion Rowshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/December/Dr-Berg-on-HANA-and-BO-Explorer-with-1-Billion-Rows
<p style="text-align: left;">This fall I worked with the University of Wisconsin and loaded 1.22 billion rows to their HANA system and put BO Explorer as the analytical tool. &nbsp;In this demo we are looking at the unbelievable speed we saw.</p>Mon, 09 Dec 2013 11:22:00 GMT3 Transformational Forces That Are Driving Business in Africahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/December/3-Transformational-Forces-That-Are-Driving-Business-in-Africa
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While the economy is clearly growing, conducting business in many African countries can still be a challenge for some organizations. Luis Murguia, Senior Vice President of Ecosystem and Channels for SAP in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, shares some insights on how SAP ensures success in an unpredictable market.</p>Wed, 04 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMTSAP mentor Josh Fletcher talks Lumira, advanced Webi, tool selection, and good dashboard designhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/Josh-Fletcher-TechEd-Interview
<p>We caught up with Josh Fletcher live at SAP TechEd Las Vegas to get his thoughts on the latest Lumira enhancements, dashboard design tools and how to get started with&nbsp;SAP dashboard&nbsp;tools.</p>Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:48:00 GMTThe Path, Episode 7: Richard Howellshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/December/The-Path-Episode-7_Richard-Howells
<p>In this episode, we find out how Richard Howells went from tinkering with early computer programs in&nbsp;rural Wales to&nbsp;become Head of Go To Market for supply chain at SAP. </p>Mon, 02 Dec 2013 05:00:00 GMTReporting and Analytics 2013 Keynote Address with SAP's Christian Rodatushttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/November/ReportingandAnalytics_Keynote_Rodatus
Watch Christian Rodatus, SAP's SVP and General Manager, Analytics, deliver his keynote address, <em>Unleashing the Power of Collective Insight</em>, at the SAPinsider Reporting and Analytics 2013 conference in Orlando, Florida.Fri, 22 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMTReview of Keynote from SAPinsider Reporting and Analytics 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/November/ReportingAnalyticsKeynoteReview
A review of the keynote presentation from SAP Senior Vice President and General Manager of Analytics Christian Rodatus from the Reporting and Analytics 2013 conference in Orlando.Wed, 20 Nov 2013 18:00:00 GMTUser Experience Takes Center Stage at SAP TechEd Amsterdam 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/November/User-Experience-Takes-Center-Stage-at-SAP-TechEd-Amsterdam-2013
<p>A surprising new topic is under the spotlight at this year's TechEd conference.</p>Fri, 15 Nov 2013 19:19:12 GMTGet Prepped for Managing Your SAP Projects 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/November/Get-Prepped-for-Managing-Your-SAP-Projects-2013
A quick homework assignment for all those heading to the conference (or even those that aren't!)Wed, 13 Nov 2013 19:53:00 GMTGetting started with SAP Mobile Platform tools: Q&A with the authors of Mobile Development for SAPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/November/Online-Chat-with-the-Authors-of-Mobile-Development-for-SAP
<p>What do you need to know about MBOs, Hybrid Web Containers, and SDKs to begin building apps using SAP Mobile Platform? The authors of <em>Mobile Development for SAP&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;shared their advice in a Q&amp;A with our readers.</p>Wed, 13 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMTWalking the Tightrope, Episode 5: Adam Tkacz on Mergers & Acquisitionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/November/Walking-Tightrope-series-with-Adam-Tkacz
<p>In Episode 5 of Walking the Tightrope, PwC Senior Manager of SAP Consulting Adam Tkacz discusses some key challenges and offers advice for how to successfully steer through a complex merger &amp; acquisition project, or "program." </p>Mon, 11 Nov 2013 16:23:00 GMTWhat's changing with SAP BusinessObjects BI Tools in 4.1?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/November/Bjarne-Berg-on-Latest-BI-Upgrades-and-SAP-BusinessObjects-Tools
<p style="margin: 0pt;">With their recent upgrade to SAP BusinessObject BI 4.1 SP1, Dr. Berg and the ComeritLabs team are now testing out the new features of SAP BusinessObjects tools. Join our online chat with them on November 7 to discuss new tools features, and get implementation and integration tips on tools like Webi, Dashboards, and Analysis in 4.1.</p>Thu, 07 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMTExplaining SAP HANA in human talkhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/November/Explaining-SAP-HANA-in-Human-Talk
How do&nbsp;you tell the story of&nbsp;SAP HANA?&nbsp;More importantly, how do you&nbsp;communicate&nbsp;what it can do, really do, for the daily workings of the company? Here's one man&nbsp;on a mission for&nbsp;some&nbsp;plainspoken HANA talk.Thu, 07 Nov 2013 00:04:00 GMTNathan Williams' TechEd Wrapup on SAP Solution Managerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/November/Nathan-Williams-on-Solution-Manager-at-SAP-TechEd
<p>Nathan Williams, a Solution Manager expert and consultant, and author of the SAP PRESS book<em> IT Service Management for SAP Solution Manager, </em>answers our questions about coverage of SAP Solution Manager coverage at SAP TechEd Vegas.</p>Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:35:00 GMTThe Path, Episode 5: Greg Newmanhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/October/Path_Newman
<p>In Episode 5 of The Path, New Zealand native Greg Newman discusses&nbsp;how he became involved with SAP&nbsp;HCM, his dream of taking an RV across America, and what it was like as one of a very few New Zealanders living in Brazil.</p>Thu, 31 Oct 2013 18:11:00 GMTThe Path, Episode 4: Kerry Brownhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/October/The-Path-Episode-4_Kerry-Brown
How does someone go from striving to be a professional athlete to becoming a vice president at one of the biggest software companies in the world? Find out when you meet Kerry Brown on this episode of The Path.Mon, 28 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTBI 4.1 and BusinessObjects Analysis - What Is Newhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/BI-41-and-BusinessObjects-Analysis-What-Is-New
<p style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10pt;">In the latest blog on SAP BI 4.1 upgrades,&nbsp;Dr.&nbsp;Berg reports on&nbsp;the changes and new features in SAP BusinessObjects Analysis.&nbsp; </p>Fri, 25 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTUser Experience and SAP HANA Star in TechEd Keynotehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/TechEd-2013-keynote
SAPinsiderOnline writer&nbsp;Ken Murphy blogs about Dr. Vishal Sikka's Keynote Address at TechEd 2013 on Tuesday. Murphy caught the streaming feed from the SAPinsider offices in Dedham, Mass.Wed, 23 Oct 2013 13:17:00 GMTSAP TechEd Review: A Unique Look at Big Data in Nate Silver's Keynotehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/TechEd-Review_Nate-Silver-Keynote
Author and statistician Nate Silver provides an intriguing take on big data during his keynote at SAP TechEd.Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP HANA: Building a Business Casehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/October/HANA_Pod
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In this podcast, Ken Murphy of <em>SAPinsider</em> speaks with consultants and SAP customers about their experiences with building a business case for SAP HANA. Executives from fleet management firm ARI and medical devices company Medtronic share insights into SAP HANA from a customer perspective, while Nicola Bianzino of Accenture and Karthik Palinisamy of Grom shed some light on how building a business case for SAP HANA differs from the traditional approach.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b></b></p>Fri, 18 Oct 2013 14:38:00 GMTUpgrading SAP BI: Features of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/Bjarne-Berg-Features-of-SAP-BusinessObjects-Dashboards-41
Dr. Berg's latest blog shares notes from a BI 4.0 server upgrade to SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.1 to assess its new functionality. The update to Dashboards provides some enhancements for support on mobile devices as well as improved object and component browsers functionality.Fri, 18 Oct 2013 11:16:00 GMTBreak it down: Data Governance - What is it and how do I get started?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/Data-Governance-What-is-it-and-how-do-I-get-started
This Reporting &amp; Analytics tip comes from a presentation by Don Loden&rsquo;s 5 ways to enhance your information governance program presentation coming up at Reporting &amp; Analytics 2013 in Orlando, November 20-22.<br />Fri, 18 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTHow The Process of Building a Web Site Made Me a Better IT Editorhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/How-SAPinsider-Online-Will-Make-Me-More-Useful-To-You
<p>The development of this web site provided some real-world experience for this IT editor. </p>Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:09:57 GMTThe Path, Episode 3: Thorsten Franzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/October/ThorstenFranz_Path_SAPinsider
In the third episode of the Path podcast series, consultant Thorsten Franz of the newly established firm operatics describes his unique career path, moving from an aspiring musician to a career in philosophy and then onto the IT field.Wed, 16 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP HR user experience and UI options: Q&A with Jeremy Mastershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/October/Jeremy-Masters-on-UI-options-for-HR
<p>What's the latest on UIs and user experience for SAP solutions for HR? Join Jeremy Masters in a one-hour chat on Wednesday, October 16 to ask your questions about Fiori, Renewal, enhancement package 6, and the UI options now available with SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors.</p>Wed, 16 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTWalking the Tightrope, Episode 1: Kevin Moore Provides Lessons Learned From a Global SAP Consolidationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/October/KevinMoore_SAPProjects_TightropeSeries
In this kickoff to the Walking the Tightrope podcast series&nbsp;leading up to the Managing Your SAP Projects 2013 conference, we speak with SAP platinum consultant Kevin Moore about lessons learned from a large-scale global SAP consolidation.Thu, 10 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP Takes Social Responsibility to Hearthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/October/SAP-Takes-Social-Responsibility-to-Heart
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">If you&rsquo;ve read any of my previous blog posts, you may have noticed a trend. I tend to focus on the humanitarian side of SAP. This post looks at SAP&rsquo;s new social sabbatical initiative in China.</p>Wed, 09 Oct 2013 15:00:00 GMTNew Opportunities Are Illuminated at Soraahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2013/October/New-Opportunities-Are-Illuminated-at-Soraa
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Start-up light-emitting diode (LED) lighting manufacturer Soraa, anticipating rapid growth after transition from a research firm to a production manufacturer, needed a more robust IT platform. This article explores Soraa's implementation of SAP Business All-in-One for High Tech on the SAP Sybase ASE database to manage all aspects of the business to improve process design and tighten integration with non-SAP systems.</p>Tue, 01 Oct 2013 05:00:00 GMTWelcome to the New SAPinsider Onlinehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/October/Welcome-to-the-New-SAPinsider-Online
<p>SAPinsider's vice president and publisher Lucy Swedberg officially welcomes you to the new SAPinsider Online.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 01 Oct 2013 04:00:00 GMTThe Many Changing Use Cases for SAP HANA (An Interview with Dr. Berg)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/September/BergOnHANA
<p>In this interview, Dr. Berg discusses some of the more unique SAP HANA use cases and projects he's worked on.&nbsp;</p>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTThe Path, Episode 1: Danielle Laroccahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/September/Path_Larocca
<p>In the initial episode of this unique podcast series, Danielle Larocca of SpinifexIT describes the surprising turn that led her into the SAP ecosystem.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 26 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTPreparing for Enterprise Mobility projects: Q&A with Jim Cameron and Steven Crookehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/September/CameronCrooke-MobilityQA-Sept2013
Follow our discussion with Enterprise Mobility 2013 speakers Jim Cameron and Steven Crooke, who will be presenting a number of sessions at SAPinsider’s upcoming Enterprise Mobility 2013 conference on developing mobile assessments and building a mobile strategy.Wed, 25 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTAn SAPinsider Chat with Jeremy Masters: An SAP HR Overviewhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/September/MastersPodcast-Sept2013
SAPinsider recently spoke with SAP Press author Jeremy Masters about the direction of SAP HR, some takeaways from SAPPHIRE NOW, what to look for in 2014, as well as to hear his thoughts on the evolving hybrid vs. on-premise discussion as it relates to HR.Thu, 19 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTLive Q&A with the authors of SuccessFactors for SAP ERP HCMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/September/SuccessFactor-Authors-QandA-Sept2013
The authors of <em>SuccessFactors for SAP ERP HCM</em>, Amy Grubb, Luke Marson and Jyoti Sharma, took questions in a chat sponsored by SAP PRESS. Watch the replay and review all their HR advice and tips.Thu, 19 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTThe latest on SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio: Q&A with SAP mentor Tammy Powlashttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/September/PowlasQA-Sep2013
Review Tammy Powlas's Q&A on SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio. Reporting & Analytics 2013 speaker Tammy Powlas took questions on her experiences at Fairfax Water beta testing Design Studio 1.1, including discussions of new features in 1.1 and where it fits into BI tool selection.Tue, 17 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTWhere Insider Learning Network Will Be on October 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/September/Where-Insider-Learning-Network-Will-Be-on-October-1
by Lucy B. Swedberg, Publisher, SAPinsider Dear Insider Learning Network members, I have exciting news to share with you: As you watch this video , I hope you take away 3 important points: olTue, 10 Sep 2013 20:19:40 GMTVirtustream in the Mainstream: What Might SAP's Investment Mean for the Future of Hybrid Cloud?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/September/Virtustream-in-the-Mainstream-What-Might-SAPs-Investment-Mean-for-the-Future-of-Hybrid-Cloud
Marc Mosca , Research Analyst, Wellesley Information Services One thing that the seed round of venture capital funding probably covers for a new, exciting Infrastructure-as-a-Service company is a scalable web-hosting solution. After all, one possible positive outcome for both the company and its new investors is that The Market begins to take notice of its product and generates Buzz which. Buzz allows the company to raise new capital and further develop that innovative IaaS solution. If that startup is really successful, it might even land in Gartner&rsquo;s Magic Quadrant and attract the interest and investment of an exponentially larger firm looking for a way to entice its customers into moving their mission-critical systems to the cloud. Jumping into a Series D offering with what amounts to pocket change is not the most speculative investment SAP could make. After all, by the fourth round of funding and after four years in business, Bethesda, Maryland-based Virtustream should be expected to have reached some maturity in process and practice. The conversation should be less about the raw potential of its concept than it is about the expected future direction of the company and its products. That direction looks intriguing, for both Virtustream and SAP, but if Walldorf needed a reminder not to expect too much, too fast from this young company, it certainly came when The Market read the headlines this morning, generated an abundance of Buzz, and then this happened: Challenges like this arise when a lauded but relatively small company suddenly has a story on CNBC&rsquo;s website. The most likely cause is, of course, that an increase in connections to the site surpassed the design limits, rather than a problem at a platform host or some third party provider. 1 But this error highlights perhaps the simplest risk the enterprise faces when moving any mission-critical system to the as-a-service model, and it is the same risk that SAP is hoping Virtustream&rsquo;s product can eventually mitigate for its customers: A move to the as-a-service model necessitates some loss of control for the enterprise&rsquo;s IT team, and the risk that loss of control poses is difficult to estimate, much less mitigate. Virtustream&rsquo;s product offerings can be separated into three lines: A &ldquo;standard&rdquo; public cloud with multiple data center locations and backup sites in the US and Europe; SpotCloud, a cloud resources exchange 2 ; and xStream, the company&rsquo;s cloud management software. xStream would seem to be the most interesting technology to SAP, both as an investor and as a potential future property. Virtustream&rsquo;s materials on xStream show an explicit company- and development-focus on the hybrid cloud, an area many cloud providers have neglected in favor of moves to their own, public or private solutions. Large-scale adoption by large enterprises of a single, uniform cloud solution seems increasingly unlikely. The loss of control over a portion of the solution creates a difficult-to-measure risk that is somewhat analogous to the one Virtustream faced with its website this morning: At the critical moment, can the service providers be trusted to provide the same responsiveness and quality the enterprise&rsquo;s own team could have achieved? xStream attempts to address this concern by assuming a hybrid cloud and developing a unified monitoring platform to maximize visibility and allow for some measurement of the risk and requirements of both private and public cloud offerings. One might even notice some parallels between xStream&rsquo;s niche in cloud and Afaria&rsquo;s in mobile. This may or may not be particularly innovative, and it may or may not address customers&rsquo; concerns well enough to entice business critical systems into the cloud, but Virtustream appears to at least be heading in a direction that interests SAP enough to invest $40 million. If they are able to overcome the challenges posed by growth and deliver a mature solution as expected, Virtustream could well be on the receiving end of a substantially larger bid for more (all) of the company and its xStream IaaS solution in the future. -------------------- 1 Or maybe not. A quick Google search reveals this was an ongoing problem between 2011 and early 2013 with Drupal. Most cases were eventually revealed to be sloppy coding or simply left unsolved. I'm interested to hear from someone with better PHP or SQL experience than my own what may have caused this problem for Virtustream. Plenty of people were scratching their heads and wondering who the company was when the news crossed the wires this morning. Losing your website after a news headline is not the most effective business development strategy for an IaaS provider. 2 This market is actually about to get some big name competition. Reuters reported in July that the Deutsche B &ouml; erse is preparing to commoditize cloud computing by launching an exchange. Given the focus earlier this summer on whether cloud providers are really utilities, it will be interesting to see if the exchange is a viable business line for Virtustream when the B &ouml; erse enters - and whether FERC takes interest in the US. Also, imagine the revenue possibilities if Virtustream's cloud exchange was combined with, say, the Ariba platform.Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:45:27 GMTGet the Inside Scoop on SAP and SucessFactors from the Authors of SuccessFactors with SAP ERP HCMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/September/Get-the-Inside-Scoop-from-the-Authors-of-SuccessFactors-with-SAP-ERP-HCM
<p>In this exclusive podcast, Luke Marson, Jyoti Sharma and Amy Grubb discuss misconceptions SAP users have about SuccessFactors, SAP Jam, the HR roadmap going forward including SAP HANA, and the highs and lows of integrating SuccessFactors and SAP.</p>Tue, 10 Sep 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP eInvoicing - Local Government Compliance Affects a Global SAP Deploymenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/September/SAP-eInvoicing-Local-Government-Compliance-Affects-a-Global-SAP-Deployment
With Latin America constantly evolving their tax and electronic invoicing policies, corporate SAP teams are left with skyrocketing support costs and constant change management requests. With Brazil changing their requirements and mandating the adjustment to version 3.1 by the end of 2014, now is the time to look at the true cost of supporting Nota Fiscal with a centralized SAP system. Most of these costs are overlooked as they are considered standard operating procedures. Below I want to describe the most common situation for Day to Day Support issues and Change Management when you have to manage Brazil Nota Fiscal with a global/centralized version of SAP ERP. Most likely your organization is dealing with this very situation in Brazil &ndash; and if you operate in Mexico, Argentina and Chile &ndash; well now you have 4 problems. Before I jump into the example, it is important to understand the traditional architecture that has been implemented. This usually wasn't implemented by design, it was implemented for three specific IT realities: ulFri, 06 Sep 2013 16:12:17 GMTSAP HANA Breaks Through Crowded Fantasy Backfieldhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/September/SAP-HANA-Breaks-Through-Crowded-Fantasy-Backfield
<p>SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott is on a sports kick. From the SAPPHIRE NOW sports-heavy keynote , to his recent USA Today column on innovation in sports and the reshaped game-day experience, to his sixth-ever Tweet, below, on the new SAP HANA-powered fantasy football app, McDermott is the front-man for SAP&rsquo;s foray into sports and entertainment as the company&rsquo;s 25 th vertical industry market. It&rsquo;s a smart move. </p> <p>Sports fans, after all, permeate every demographic and industry, and most don&rsquo;t work for companies using enterprise software. Yet with SAP HANA now powering the new NFL Player Comparison Tool for fantasy football, as well as the NBA.com stats page, every sports fan has the opportunity to interact with in-memory technology. I can include myself in that group. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>Thu, 05 Sep 2013 20:01:00 GMTData-Driven Decisions Meet Dilberthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/September/Data-Driven-Decisions-Meet-Dilbert
Dilbert, the cartoon, is often a reliable guide when looking for perspective on all things corporate. Take this slice of life from an excerpt of Scott Adams&rsquo; comic strip on August 24, 2010: <p style="padding-left: 30px;" i /i /pWed, 04 Sep 2013 17:34:00 GMTReal HANA Performance Test Benchmarkshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/September/Real-HANA-Performance-Test-Benchmarks
Over the last 8 months I have been working with a team of people to move a very large SAP BW system to HANA. Overall we moved data into a 15TB BW on HANA environment and tested almost 100 of the most used queries. We also tested HANA vs. BWA and HANA data load performance of over 500 jobs. This was a test to see if it could be done and to get some performance benchmarks from testing a real system with real queries. In this blog we look at the real performance benchmarks. By Dr. Berg BW on HANA Query Performance Vs. Oracle &ndash; 16.6 times faster We tested almost 100 queries from seven business areas in the company and found that we had an average of 16.6 times faster query run-times. This meant that a query that took on average 64 seconds on Oracle now ran in 4 seconds on HANA. However, we also saw even more spectacular performance in some areas. For example, some queries that took over 348 seconds on Oracle was running in 1.19 seconds on HANA (292 times faster). About 10% of our queries tested were at least 50 times faster on HANA. Actually, queries that predominantly used simple sub-totals, group-buy and large data reads, performed the best in HANA. This was common in Finance, which had on average 28 times faster queries on HANA than on Oracle. BW on HANA Load Performance Vs. Oracle &ndash; 43% faster We executed over 530 data load jobs in our test. Many were executed multiple times. We did not make any changes to the SAP on HANA loads, even when we could have got even faster data loads by adding hints on slow ABAP routines. Overall we saw 43% faster data loads from the process chains. The loads within BW for Acquisition, Propagation, Transformation and Reporting layers in LSA, went from running 37 thousands minutes (overall) to 21 thousand minutes. Naturally, the jobs were running in parallel so the overall time was much shorter. We saw that about 19% of the performance gain came from data activations. Finally, we redesigned two data flows to see what performance again we would get from removing layers in LSA to the new LSA++ architecture for HANA. In these scenarios we saw data load times decrease from over 6.2 hours on LSA on Oracle to under 2.1 hours for LSA++ on HANA, a 67% performance gain. BW on HANA Query Performance Vs. BWA &ndash; 64% faster We also tested a set of queries that leveraged BWA on the traditional BW system vs. BW on HANA. This was predominantly very large queries with substantial results sets and several group-by, totals and sub-totals. On the BWA system we had an average query performance of 43.6 seconds. On HANA the same queries with the same selection criteria, ran in 15.0 seconds. That was a 64% performance gain. Summary Overall these numbers are very impressive and should put to rest the debate on what HANA can handle very big-date (we had 40 TB), if benefits also extends to data loads (it does) and if HANA is any better than BWA (it is). PS! The HANA system consisted of 30 servers from HP (DL-980) with 512 GB RAM and 40 cores each. ------------------------ Next time we will look at more of the lessons learned from HANA database migrations of very large BW systems and what you should look out for.... Thanks, Dr. BergTue, 03 Sep 2013 16:45:41 GMTA Closer Look at SAP's "New Route to the Cloud"http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/A-Closer-Look-at-SAPs-New-Route-to-the-Cloud
Marc Mosca , Research Analyst, Wellesley Information Services Susan Galer&rsquo;s August 6 post on Forbes&rsquo; BrandVoice provided SAP&rsquo;s first detailed, public view of its recently announced cloud initiative for on-premise license-holders. The path, or extension model, allows customers to &ldquo;reallocate investments to the respective cloud solutions from SAP, replacing the affected on-premise license and maintenance with a cloud subscription.&rdquo; This move has generated some discussion among SAP-watchers and in the Enterprise IT blogosphere, and there is perhaps some value in considering what this means for the future of SAP&rsquo;s maintenance agreements and the CRM, HCM, and SCM on-premise modules. 1 Beyond the theoretical debate, however, two features in the marketing surrounding SAP&rsquo;s announcement immediately stand out and are perhaps more relevant to the IT decision-maker. The first is the initial statement in which SAP notes that it plans to grant extensions on a case-by-case basis. This statement is commendably transparent with respect to process, but the lack of certainty seems a strange addition to the announcement of a major initiative. The second notable feature is the continued use of forward-looking metaphors and language to describe the actual re-allocation solution. Though most commentators continue to call the solution a &ldquo; swap ,&rdquo; SAP refers to the agreement precisely in their official statements as an &ldquo;extension.&rdquo; Dennis Howlett explains these features in his August 7 piece, &ldquo; Understanding SAP&rsquo;s New Cloud Extension Rules .&rdquo; SAP is utilizing linguistic nuance to describe a solution that, while progressive, imposes several qualification criteria on the license-holder and so requires that the holder make a strategic trade if they wish to enter into the new agreement. Most notably, SAP&rsquo;s general eligibility criteria &ldquo;assumes an expanded investment with cloud solutions from SAP&rdquo; and sets the contract term for new cloud subscriptions at five years. Thus, this is not a &ldquo;swap&rdquo; in the sense most commentators have used the word. A company&rsquo;s move from on-premise licensing and maintenance to a cloud subscription is, in fact, an extension of its engagement with SAP and an expectation that the engagement will increase over time. Howlett also notes that SAP requires a license audit be performed no more than six months prior to the extension request and that SAP reserves the right to conduct additional audits after the extension is adopted. The &ldquo;New Route to the Cloud&rdquo; minimizes overall financial risk to companies considering a migration as it allows them to adopt SuccessFactors, Ariba, Hybris, and SAP&rsquo;s other cloud-based solutions in the near term without some of the limits imposed by their current licensing agreement. However, adopting this strategy will require customers to fully understand how their current system and future plans align to both SAP&rsquo;s criteria for eligibility and the implied long-term engagement and investment. This may not match the colloquial definition of &ldquo;swap&rdquo; as it is used by commentators, but in presenting the option for long-term commitment and cost-stability in place of near-term market uncertainty, SAP&rsquo;s cloud extension program certainly carries the sense of a swap, or more accurately, a forward contract for IT decision-makers seeking to gain visibility into future costs during this period of rapid change. More: SAP Maps Out Fast, Flexible Route to Cloud for Customer Innovation [Forbes] Understanding SAP's New Cloud Extension Rules [Diginomica] -------------------- 1 Is there? Here you can read Dennis Howlett on the general excitement surrounding licenses this summer. SAP is fairly upfront about the fact that these new options may not result in any real economic benefit for many of their customers. If so, the rate of change in the "mix" of revenues for the company seems likely to remain steady, rather than accelerate above current forecasts.Mon, 26 Aug 2013 19:48:00 GMTJon Reed on The Real Value of SAP TechEd Las Vegas and Case Studies (Podcast)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Jon-Reed-on-The-Real-Value-of-SAP-TechEd-Las-Vegas-and-Case-Studies-Podcast
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I got a chance to chat with the always engaging Jon Reed, SAP mentor and independent analyst, this week and got his thoughts on a couple of topics, including: ulSun, 25 Aug 2013 18:33:00 GMTSAP TechEd Las Vegas Preview with SAP Mentor Jon Reedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/August/SAPTechEdPreviewwithJonReed
<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The always enlightening Jon Reed provides his insights into:</p> <ul> <li>The value of attending SAP TechEd conference to business-side SAP users</li> <li>The value of case studies as an educational tool and what makes a good case study</li> <li>What music he listens to in preparation for a podcast.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p>Sun, 25 Aug 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal: Hybrid Architecture Overtakes OnPremise and 100% Cloud Offeringshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-Hybrid-Architecture-Overtakes-OnPremise-and-100-Cloud-Offerings
There is a definite trend for companies using SAP to move away from managing in house software solutions because of the maintenance difficulties imposed by the changing legislation in Brazil. Many companies looked at Brazil Nota Fiscal over the past few years as just another invoice process and compliance solution that could be managed by internal staff. However, as more organization move business processes into shared services and look to consolidate on single instances or regional instances of SAP, they are finding that the true cost of ownership is extremely high. The reasons for the out of control costs for On Premise Nota Fiscal solutions include: ulWed, 21 Aug 2013 21:28:00 GMTSMAC, Code Halos and the Good, Bad and Ugly of Tracking Datahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/SMAC-Code-Halos-and-the-Good-Bad-and-Ugly-of-Tracking-Data
As a SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) Analyst, I spend my days researching, writing and presenting ideas to companies and audiences. One of the most important subjects these days is how to develop and implement the best possible information logistics systems. That means utilizing and processing collected data in the most advantageous and efficient manner possible to further the ambitions of the business. That goal is perfectly understandable for a business - collecting business data and transactional data is expected, but when it is your personal data (Code Halos) that is being collected we often feel differently. For example, I love having my TripIt, Marriott and Delta mobile apps know about me, my preferences and my past, present and future travels, but I don't want that information shared with other vendors (or home burglars) without my permission. In this article, my colleague Ben Pring, Co-Director of the Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant is kind enough to address the good and bad of having your data (Code Halos) aggregated and tracked online. I have included two embedded videos - first, a video interview that I filmed with Paul Roehrig and Ben Pring on the concepts of Code Halos, and a second far more professional clip on the role of Code Halos in our everyday life. div br /Wed, 21 Aug 2013 15:08:40 GMTYour SAP Employees are Looking for a New Job. Right Now.http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Your-SAP-Employees-are-Looking-for-a-New-Job-dot-Right-Now-dot
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs What would you do if three-quarters of your staff stood up and announced they were currently looking for a job and planning to leave your organization? Would you ignore it or would you take immediate action to avoid that? Well, I have news for you -- three-quarters of your staff IS going to be looking for a job in the next year and I suspect you're not aware of it. A survey released today by SAP recruiting firm Red Commerce found that three-quarters of SAP professionals will be looking for a new job in the next 12 months.&ldquo;This is substantially higher than we have seen over the last few years, but times are good and employees are looking around for new opportunities.&rdquo; said Richard Vercesi, CEO at Red Commerce in a press release. It shouldn't be a surprise that as the market continues to improve, employee turnover is increasing. Every industry is affected by it, but the percentages in the IT industry in general and the SAP space are particularly high. According to data from the Conference Board , in the US, for Computer and Mathematical Science occupations, where there are 3.2 job ads for every unemployed person in the field last month. So what can you do to avoid three-quarters of your SAP staff walking out the door in the next 12 months? Here are a few tips. 1. Don't just offer training, encourage training . According to Robert Half Technology , 68% of IT workers surveyed said the ability to acquire new skills is very important when evaluating a job opportunity. Additionally, 64% of respondents said they are very concerned about keeping their skills current in the next three to five years. However, in a separate Robert Half Technology survey, 44% of CIOs said their companies do not have training and development programs for IT professionals. So step one is make sure you HAVE the training opportunities. But simply offering training or reimbursement for training is not enough. In many organizations, workers may feel they are too busy to take advantage of training. Or in other cases, the permissions and red tape required to get reimbursed is enough to discourage them. So the key is to not just OFFER the training, but to make it easily accessible to employees. 2. Look at the wall...because the writing is on it . Don't live in denial. Some of your top-performers are looking for a job right now. Or in some cases, there has already been a mass exodus but no one is talking about it. But it's a sign. A bad sign. Simply looking for and interpreting signs of employee dissatisfaction is the first step. And if you can't do that in-person, work with your HR organization to survey your staff about job satisfaction to get a better read on things. The more you can figure out what they want the more likely you'll be able to get them to stay. 3. Benchmark . Go to industry conferences and events and talk to managers at other SAP customers and companies to find out what they've done to retain their top employees. Find out what programs, initiatives, or incentives they've used to keep employees. 4. Do SOMETHING . If you know there is an unhappy or disgruntled staff member or group, talk to them. Meet with them. Find out what their gripe is and resolve it because their impact on the broader organization can be devastating (in baseball they call it a "cancer in the clubhouse"). I admit I am not a human resources expert and these are ideas I've simply read about or make common sense. I'd love to hear more from you about YOUR employee retention strategies. If you're the manager in an SAP organization, what are you doing to retain workers? If you're a worker looking to jump ship, what's the reason? Salary? Training? Challenge? Post your comments on this blog and perhaps together we can brainstorm a more extensive and SAP-specific list of strategies.Fri, 16 Aug 2013 17:14:00 GMTMexico CFDI PAC Strategies (Part 5 of 5) - Support and Change Management are Forgotten Costs But The Largest Costshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Mexico-CFDI-PAC-Strategies-Part-5-of-5-Support-and-Change-Management-are-Forgotten-Costs-But-The-La
In the 5 th part of our series on the dangers of working with a PAC in Mexico, I wanted to cover support and change management. These are the real cost drivers over the long term but are often not reviewed in the decision process. Why does this get overlooked? Two reasons: ulWed, 14 Aug 2013 22:00:00 GMTCIOs Cite Flexibility in Shift to Hybrid Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/CIOs-Cite-Flexibility-in-Shift-to-Hybrid-Cloud
<p>According to a joint SAP and Wakefield Research <a href="http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/news.epx?PressID=21216">survey</a>, a hybrid cloud approach is gaining steam with CIO&rsquo;s, with no signs of abating. The national survey polled more than 50 CIO&rsquo;s, nearly half of whom were from Fortune 1000 companies. Here&rsquo;s the nitty-gritty:</p>Wed, 14 Aug 2013 13:28:00 GMTReporting and Analytics 2013 Preview: Podcast with Tony Guetersloh on SAP HANA, mobile BIhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Reporting-and-Analytics-2013-Preview-Podcast-with-Tony-Guetersloh-on-SAP-HANA-mobile-BI
In this podcast, Tony Guetersloh of TekLink Intl explains the benefits of the "mixed scenario" for SAP HANA and NetWeaver BW on HANA and provides his insights into the current state and future roadmap for mobile BI. Guetersloh will be a speaker at the upcoming Reporting and Analytics 2013 conference in Orlando Nov. 20-22. Go to Reporting2013.com for details. You can listen to my conversation with Tony or read a transcript of our discussion, below. Dave Hannon, SAPinsider: Hello and welcome. This is Dave Hannon with SAPinsider . I&rsquo;m joined today by Tony Guetersloh, a principal consultant at TekLink International . Tony&rsquo;s also a presenter at our upcoming Reporting and Analytics conference in Orlando that is taking place November 20-22 in Orlando . Welcome, Tony. Tony Guetersloh, TekLink International: Hi, Dave. Thanks for having me. Dave: Tony, one of the topics you&rsquo;re presenting on at the conference is the mixed-scenario of SAP HANA and SAP NetWeaver BW on HANA. I wanted to ask you first to explain what that is and how prevalent it is today among SAP customers. Tony: Sure. The mixed scenario is an instance where a customer will have enterprise HANA installed and be using it to replicate data via SOP and building views and analytics on top of it using the HANA modeling studio. And then, alongside that, BW is running on top of HANA. And when you implement that scenario, it gives you a lot of flexibility to expose views that you&rsquo;ve created in the HANA Studio directly into BW, and consume them as data sources. It also allows you to expose some of your BW-constructed objects, such as your HANA-optimized cubes and DSOs, as views into your HANA Studio. So it lets you get the best of both worlds, mixing and matching the capabilities of the tools together. As far as its prevalence, we&rsquo;ve seen it with a handful of customers, but it seems to be more with customers who took the early plunge into HANA, and had already installed and are running enterprise HANA over a year ago. And then with the advent of BW on HANA in the last year, they&rsquo;ve added onto that and now are running kind of both together. One thing I plan to cover in my session is for the customers that have not taken plunge yet, that are on the sidelines still, but want to get into HANA this year. They are trying to figure out what the best approach to take is &mdash; whether they go enterprise or BW on HANA. Hopefully from my session they&rsquo;ll get some ideas of how they can maybe still go to a mixed scenario or evaluate which of the different scenarios work best for their current situation. Dave: Where does this all fit into the overall SAP HANA roadmap? Is this mix-and-match approach an intermediate step for customers coming at HANA from a few different approaches? Or is this a logical progression, as far you can see? Tony: Well that&rsquo;s a great question. And I do see this as sort of the next intermediary step in the roadmap. There have been a lot of questions, I think, about whether or not HANA will truly replace BW -- if in the future BW goes away and BI just goes to HANA. And SAP has been very clear and adamant in saying no - there is still a definite need for an architected data warehouse, and BW will be that platform for SAP going forward. So, the good news is that customers that already have BW, which a lot of SAP customers have, that investment is safe, they continue to invest in it, continue to innovate in it. And moving it to the HANA platform just gets them to that next step. Where the mixed scenarios come in is that on the other side - by putting in Enterprise HANA and start doing stuff with that now - you can already gain a lot of benefits from that as far as getting toward real-time reporting or operational reporting, speeding up your transaction systems. For the HANA roadmap, there&rsquo;s just more and more coming on that side. Now there are new capabilities to run Business Suite on HANA and then also with HANA Live, which is kind of the analytical side. That&rsquo;s all happening on the enterprise HANA box. But aside from that you still want your BW data warehouse in place, too. So, to me it is a logical step to have that mixed scenario, and then as the new innovations are coming down the pipeline from SAP you can just continue to enhance on your Enterprise box and all the while your investment on BW is safe and continues to grow and innovate in the space of BI. Dave: I know you&rsquo;re also presenting at the Reporting and Analytics conference about evaluating the business case for taking BI mobile . I know mobile BI is a pretty hot topic these days. So I wanted to ask you, is there a most-common mistake you see companies make when they&rsquo;re deciding which reports or dashboards to mobilize? Tony: Well, yes and no. I see several mistakes. Probably the one that&rsquo;s the most common - and the easiest to make - is to rush into mobile without really using any criteria or deciding factors to decide what you want to mobilize. Mobile reporting obviously is very exciting. It&rsquo;s kind of a hot area right now and when companies start to see it, once they implement the tools that allow them to do that, they just want to throw everything and the kitchen onto the mobile platform. And sometimes that&rsquo;s OK, but really, it might not make sense for some things to go mobile. That&rsquo;s one of the things I&rsquo;ll cover in my session -- really helping clients identify the criteria and go through to really evaluate what reports will provide the most value by putting them onto the mobile platform. Dave: Is there a particular example you can point to when mobilizing just didn&rsquo;t bring as much value as expected? Tony: Yes. There was one client I worked with a while back; they were so eager to put a lot of their reports on the mobile platform, they did it without working through some of the security and network issues ahead of time with their security team. So, what they ended up with was that they could see their reports on their mobile devices, on their iPads or iPhones -- but it only worked when they were on their company network. So they could look at it if they were in the office, but as soon as they stepped out and got on a public internet, they couldn&rsquo;t access it because they couldn&rsquo;t get through the firewall on their device. It was kind of a novelty that they could get to the access while they were in the office, but the whole point of mobility is being able to access it from anywhere and convenience &mdash; they didn&rsquo;t really get that out of it since they had to come into the office anyway to use it. I think that was an example where they probably didn&rsquo;t get everything they were expecting off the bat. Dave: Last, wanted to ask you about what you see as the next logical step in SAP&rsquo;s mobile BI strategy. I know a lot of folks are looking to see what&rsquo;s going to come next, and I was wondering if there&rsquo;s anything you&rsquo;re expecting or hoping to see when it comes to mobile BI. Tony: Well, what I would hope to see - and expect the next step would be - is to be able to do more building and editing of reports and dashboards directly on the device. Currently, the way SAP&rsquo;s mobile app works - at least for BI - is that you still have to build all the content in BusinessObjects, whether it&rsquo;s Webi or dashboards or Crystal Reports. You still need to build those on your PC tools, and then you can view and navigate those reports on the mobile platform. But when you look at what some of the other non-SAP third-party tools are doing on the mobile space, a lot of that now is giving people the ability to build and create their dashboards directly on their tablet or phone device without even needing the PC at all. And so I see that as probably the next logical step in SAP&rsquo;s platform is to give actual edit and creation capabilities directly on the mobile device. Dave: Great. Thanks, Tony. To find out more about Tony&rsquo;s sessions at the upcoming Reporting and Analytics conference in Orlando, November 20-22, you can go to reporting2013.com . Tony Guetersloh, principal consultant at TekLink International, thank you for joining us today. Tony: Well thank you, Dave, for having me. This has been fun.Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:50:00 GMTMexico CFDI PAC Strategies (Part 4 of 5) - Customers create Chaoshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Mexico-CFDI-PAC-Strategies-Part-4-of-5-Customers-create-Chaos
It should not be forgotten in this discussion around government XML standards and compliance mandates that the purpose of an invoice (electronic or paper) is to get PAID. A few things that you need to be aware of concerning the distribution of the invoice, as it is not common for the PAC to do this work. It is more common for them to have you do all the work in preparing the XML, preparing the customer specifics, then pass to them for a signature, they then pass back to you to print, put on the truck and distribute to the end user. A signature is just a small piece of the puzzle &ndash; make sure you cover all pieces of the puzzle including customer customizations and distribution. By law you must make the government approved invoice (CFDI with Timbre) available to your end customer &ndash; below is what you need to know that is often overlooked concerning the customer and final distribution: ulThu, 08 Aug 2013 16:58:21 GMTThe CIO's Role as Evangelisthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/The-CIOs-Role-as-Evangelist
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs There have been some interesting columns and blogs lately discussing the CIO's role in an organization and how it impacts the organization's innovation agenda. It's an important topic (as I've covered before) and one that merits even more discussion and thought. Most recently, this blog post on the Harvard Business Review site raised a lot of interest in the topic, although I don't agree with the idea presented in the first two sentences (kitty down!) that the traditional IT organization and CIO responsibilities are going away -- I tend to think they've expanded. But the post is definitely worth a read (and the comments posted are insightful to some extent as well). In the kickoff article to the recent SAPinsider Solutions for the Office of the CIO Report , Axel B&uuml;low, Senior Vice President of Application Services and Acting CIO at SAP, makes the point that "it is incumbent on CIOs and IT organizations to recognize and respond to emerging market trends. In short, it&rsquo;s up to the IT department to act as a role model for enabling innovation across the business." That's really hitting the nail on the head. In today's environment, someone in an organization has to be focused on evaluating new technology to determine if it is something the organization can benefit from and if the product or technology is viable. Because it's not always clear what the impact of certain technologies will be. Tablets are a great example. And social media is another great example. In early 2010, I wrote an article for purchasing professionals suggesting they look into social media tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as ways to develop and improve business relationships with suppliers. These solutions were still new but not THAT new to business so I was sure they'd find their way into the enterprise. And quite frankly, I got blasted by a few folks with traditional IT backgrounds (one in particular) saying these technologies were only passing fads and had no place in the enterprise. (Not for nothing, but that same person now has a Twitter account, a LinkedIn group and a Google + and Facebook page, so unless you have a crystal ball, be careful what you say publicly about new technology.) One step CIOs can make toward this new role is adjusting the way they think about the use of technology across the enterprise. Meaning, you need to be make the most of your technology investments, but not every piece of technology has to be something that every unit in your business will use. Because shadow IT is on the rise and if there's a part of your organization that wants a certain technology, they're going to get it one way or another. A recent Harvey Nash survey found that the proportion of IT departments where 10% or more of IT spend is controlled outside the IT department has increased from 23% in 2011, to 33% in 2012, to 40% in 2013. So rather than try to maintain strict control over every piece of technology in the organizatinon, the CIO should be directing the IT organization to support and even encourage business' technology requests, not question or deny such requests as a first reaction. By the way, the Harvey Nash survey also found that 71% of CIOs see great potential for innovation in their industry, but 69% say too little time and too few resources are currently being invested in innovation. So if you're an IT leader, what should be on your radar today? Well, looking down the rungs in the corporate ladder might give some clues (as it did about social media back in 2010). A recent Cisco Global survey found that "business-class video" is high on the priority list of "next-generation executives." The survey found that: "Three out of five young executives say they will rely more heavily on business-class video during the next five to 10 years...87% believe video has a significant and positive impact on an organization, citing benefits ranging from enhancing the experience of telecommuters to saving money on travel costs and even attracting top talent." This is a good example. Is video something EVERY organization should be investing in? Probably not, but looking into how your organization can use it to improve its business is definitely something that should be on the CIO's to-do list. That includes not just the technology, but the applications, infrastructure, training (please, don't forget the training!) and talent around it. And lastly, keep your eyes open all the time. Apple didn't become Apple by looking at what their peers were giving customers, but by looking at what customers weren't getting. Treat your internal customers the same way. Look for innovative solutions to their most pressing problems and follow the innovation path from there. See also: Lessons in Innovation: A Report From the MIT Sloan CIO SymposiumWed, 07 Aug 2013 20:09:00 GMTMexico CFDI PAC Strategies (Part 3 of 5) - Printers, what do you mean I have to manage Printershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Mexico-CFDI-PAC-Strategies-Part-3-of-5-Printers-what-do-you-mean-I-have-to-manage-Printers
Printers! Who would have thought that one of the key components of an electronic document would be a printer? Aren&rsquo;t printers for paper and isn&rsquo;t this a contradiction to an electronic invoice? In the case of Mexico, printing the invoice doesn&rsquo;t refer to the one you send your customer. In this case, it is required to be on the truck in order for you to ship. In a recent blog, I wrote: &ldquo;if you can&rsquo;t get your invoice approved you shouldn&rsquo;t ship according to the statements in Article 29 of the Mexico SAT Diaries. The issue is further clarified in the definition of Carte Porte (Transportation documents required for shipping). The CFDI process doesn&rsquo;t stop with obtaining the Timbre, you have to print out a PDF version of the XML and this should accompany the truck according to the interpretations of the law. So you need to be aware of you printers. Here are the key items you should understand about printing when it comes to Mexico e-invoicing (CFDI). The problem many will find is that a PAC doesn&rsquo;t manage this process inside your operations and for those with multiple shipping points (warehouse, offices, and locations) this is a larger issue than most recognize. Printing needs, ensure your solution offers address the following &ndash; a traditional PAC just applies the signature and the rest of the process is yours to manage. ulWed, 07 Aug 2013 18:02:10 GMTEmerging best practices for SAP BW HANA data modeling & reporting: Q&A with Dr. Bjarne Berg (transcript)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/August/Emerging-best-practices-for-SAP-BW-HANA-data-modeling-reporting-QA-with-Dr-dot-Bjarne-Berg-transcri
The SAP HANA data model is still evolving. What&rsquo;s in store for InfoCubes, and what&rsquo;s the status of the LSA architecture? In the future, will we see more reporting directly from SAP ERP on SAP HANA? Comerit&rsquo;s Dr. Bjarne Berg took questions from our audience to discuss the emerging best practices for SAP BW on HANA data models and reporting. Dr. Berg is an author, consultant, professor, and long-time speaker at our BI conferences. He is presenting SAPinsider's upcoming SAP BI seminar on dashboards and reporting and is co-author, with IBM&rsquo;s Penny Silvia, of SAP HANA: An Introduction (2nd edition) from SAP PRESS. Molly Folan, SAPinsider Events: Welcome, Dr. Berg! Dr. Berg: Before we start today's session, let me give some reflections on the need for BW InfoCubes. Do We Need InfoCubes? Currently, there is significant debate on Internet blogs and forums concerning whether InfoCubes are needed with an SAP HANA system. However, for the interim period, InfoCubes are needed for several reasons. First, transactional InfoCubes are needed for Integrated Planning (IP) and write-back options. InfoCubes are also needed to store and manage noncumulative key figures, and the direct write interface (RSDRI) only works for InfoCubes. In addition, the transition from SAP NetWeaver BW to SAP HANA is simplified by allowing customers to move to the new platform without having to rewrite application logic, queries, MultiProviders, and data transformations from DSOs to InfoCubes. However, the continued use of InfoCubes has to be questioned. The introduction of the star schema, snowflakes, and other dimensional data modeling (DDM) techniques in the 1990s reduced costly table joins in relational databases, while avoiding the data redundancy of data stored in first normal form (1NF) in operational data stores (ODSs). The removal of the relational database from SAP HANA&rsquo;s in-memory processing makes most of the benefits of DDM moot, and continued use of these structures is questionable. In the future, we may see multilayered DSOs with different data retention and granularity instead. But, for now, InfoCubes will serve a transitional data storage role for most companies. Thanks, Dr. Berg Mariano Filiberto : Dear Dr. Berg, Thanks for the opportunity of discussing this topic!! It was a pity that it was not included in the SAP BI conference. It is a major topic that deserves more than one hour, but let's start somewhere. I am looking forward to your view/update of the evolution of the LSA model/framework. Some generic questions: ulTue, 06 Aug 2013 18:10:00 GMTBrazil 2014 Nota Fiscal Version 3.1 â€" Are you prepared for the mandated changes?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Brazil-2014-Nota-Fiscal-Version-3-dot-1-Are-you-prepared-for-the-mandated-changes
The Brazilian SEFAZ, tax authority, in combination with the ENCAT, the technical arm of the SEFAZ, has just published the latest version of Nota Fiscal as of July. In future blogs, we will be discussing the impact to the current processes; however, these are the key items your teams should be aware of concerning the timing and breadth of the changes. ulTue, 06 Aug 2013 16:38:15 GMTBreaking Ground for Your SAP Factoryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Breaking-Ground-for-Your-SAP-Factory
This post discusses what you'll need before you select an SAP change control solution or modify your processes. What do you need to break ground for your factory? Traditionally, IT systems follow demand. They add a little here, cut away some there. With no central focus, it&rsquo;s &ldquo;IT sprawl.&rdquo; This is how typical IT Operations systems evolve over time as tools are implemented piecemeal, processes developed on the fly and regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, imposed as required. To &ldquo;Run Like A Factory&rdquo; you&rsquo;ll need to transform this sprawl into a reliable, highly integrated set of processes, each component fitting precisely into a flow where nothing gets lost and outcomes never depend on chance. This transition must be planned, not haphazard. It&rsquo;s not just a question of tuning. That leads to the core value of visibility . To plan effectively, you must know exactly what you're dealing with. Not just the physical architecture and components, but also the data flows, software components, trouble points and, if possible, the causes behind those trouble points. Visibility allows you to map out your objectives in advance, in more than a general way. In engineering terms, it lets you document your requirements. It&rsquo;s a bigger challenge than many people realize but, as the saying goes, the devil is always in the details. Setting specific requirements lets you make informed assessments of candidate solutions. Another important factor will be flexibility . You'll need flexibility when implementing a new change control strategy, not just during continued operations. If a tool can&rsquo;t be flexible enough to manage and enforce your existing processes or easily interlink with existing tools, or if it takes six to twelve months to configure or customize and requires consultants for every subsequent major change, then the solution is more likely to be more painful than the problem - and costs will mount quickly. So, make sure you understand not just the initial cost of the technology, but the continuing investment necessary to reach and maintain productive use. Avoid trading flexibility for low up-front cost. That gets us to auditability . Audits themselves are, ultimately, visibility tools. As previously mentioned, auditability is possibly the best way to gain efficiency and to realize long-term savings in regulated or standards-compliant industries. With visibility and a clear understanding of your change control requirements, you&rsquo;ll not only be able to manage change vs. &ldquo;just making changes,&rdquo; you&rsquo;ll be able to accurately forecast the time and costs required to get the factory up and running. You can leave behind your obsolete status quo and &ldquo;Run Like A Factory&rdquo; while you lead, not follow, your markets. ************************************************************* Rick Porter, Vice President of Business Development Revelation Software Concepts www.xrsc.comTue, 06 Aug 2013 02:10:27 GMTThe biggest SCM challenge in emerging markets might not be what you think it ishttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/The-biggest-SCM-challenge-in-emerging-markets-might-not-be-what-you-think-it-is
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs There's a big opportunity for business today in the emerging markets. The potential upside of bringing your brand or products to India, China, or even Africa in the next decade or so could be almost limitless. And many companies and industries have known this for a long time and have focused on how to get their products to these markets -- literally, in that their focus was on the logistics challenges. And while many companies made progress in these areas, there is another major hurdle that supply chain organizations in particular might have been overlooking that is now coming to light -- regulations. A recent Gartner survey points this out: "A survey of 35 of the 100 companies listed by Gartner as among the top global supply chains found the most-cited supply chain challenge in emerging markets is dealing with changing rules, including regulatory or tax requirements ... Political and regulatory instability impact market access and make long-term supply chain investment and partnering strategies a risky task." Regulation's relationship with business and supply chain in particular is always a thorny issue. It is often seen as a hindrance to business but in other cases can improve business. For example, recently, in the wake of the tragic factory collapse in India, the chairman of Parliament&rsquo;s standing committee on industry in that country recommended the creation of a regulatory organization to oversee the retail industry in that country. The decision has been met with a rash of pushback out of fear that regulation could push out the smaller, more localized businesses and allow only the large, foreign firms to thrive in India. At least in theory, you can see both sides of that argument. And there are cases where businesses are lobbying for increased regulation within the supply chain. Don't believe me? Here's an example. With some banks now owning aluminum supply warehouses that directly impact aluminum prices on exchanges, brewer MillerCoors recently called for increased regulation in the United States and Britain to oversee commodities exchanges that create the "economic anomaly" in metals markets, wherein prices are pushed prices higher, even as supplies have grown. It's case where regulation impacts supply chain operations (procurement, inventory) directly. And in more and more cases, complying with some regulations can only be accomplished through the knowledge in the supply chain organization. For example, a new rule here in the US requires companies to disclose whether they use minerals in their products that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country -- the so called "conflict minerals." It's a rule with the best intentions -- reducing violence and slave labor in Africa -- but many companies may not have visibility three or four tiers down into their supply chains to know where the raw minerals used in the electronic components they buy come from. And it's the supply chain organization that's going to have to find out. And in China where tainted food is an increasing concern, a pilot program is underway to track food shipments from the slaughterhouse to the grocery store to ensure only licensed companies are in that chain. It's another example of regulation meeting supply chain in an emerging market. So if you're in supply chain and you still think your biggest challenge in the phsyical delivery of your products into emerging markets, think again. Because keeping up on and complying with the latest regulations in the emerging markets may be what makes the industry giants of tomorrow. And the supply chain organization's role will be a critical component of that equation. See also: Take the Detective Work Out of Supply Chain TroubleshootingFri, 02 Aug 2013 19:24:00 GMTMobility, The Internet of Things and Code Haloshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Mobility-The-Internet-of-Things-and-Code-Halos
Each of us are surrounded by our digital choices, preferences, activities, history and experiences that are captured as data and analyzed by the systems and websites we use. Why did Google, a company known for its search engine, develop a mobile operating system? They recognized the importance of mobility, and the fact that we would be accessing all things digital through these devices. They wanted to optimize their ability to collect data and analyze it through mobile devices and the mobile web. Here is a recent excerpt from an article written by Ben Pring on this subject, "What one key characteristic separates today&rsquo;s high-flying outperformers &ndash; such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix and Pandora &ndash; from fast-followers, wannabes, and laggards? It&rsquo;s a precision focus on the information that surrounds people, organizations, products and processes &ndash; what we call Code Halos &trade;." My colleagues Malcolm Frank, Ben Pring and Paul Roehrig recently recorded an excellent short video on this subject to help us understand the role of "Code Halos" on the web, in mobility and the Internet of Things. Video Link: youtu.be/XYwiDJ7UWHo To read more about SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) strategies and trends, Code Halos and other mega-trends click here , or visit my article library on these subjects here . ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span /pFri, 02 Aug 2013 16:02:13 GMTMexico CFDI PAC Strategies (Part 2 of 5) - Don't Forget the SAP Configurationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/August/Mexico-CFDI-PAC-Strategies-Part-2-of-5-Dont-Forget-the-SAP-Configuration
In my previous article concerning Mexico CFDI electronic invoicing, we focused on the logistics and shipping aspects of the CFDI legislation. The lesson learned from that article was: the new laws affect your ability to ship, so make sure you don&rsquo;t just contract with a single point of failure. Instead, ensure you have built-in contingency and a multi-PAC switch capability. For today, we are going to focus on the ERP configuration &ndash; this is almost always forgotten and is always the overwhelming cost of implementing, monitoring and maintaining as solution. Most PAC contracts you will find force you to do the following: ulThu, 01 Aug 2013 20:36:00 GMTMexico CFDI PAC Strategies (Part 1 of 5) - Did you just implement a Single Point of Failurehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/Mexico-CFDI-PAC-Strategies-Part-1-of-5-Did-you-just-implement-a-Single-Point-of-Failure
In my previous article, we discussed the common issues that are starting to make their way to the operational and finance teams. Many companies are setting themselves up for customer service issues, delayed payments, and most importantly delayed or lost revenue recognition as they implement their Mexico CFDI electronic invoicing strategy. In this document, we are discussing the issue of shipping and logistics. What you need to know: If you are switching from a legacy, batch format (CFD or CBB) to the real-time CFDI electronic legislation like a half million other companies, you need to understand that your ability to ship is directly linked to your ability to get your invoice approved by the government based on the letter of the law. In short, if you can&rsquo;t get your invoice approved you shouldn&rsquo;t ship according to the statements in Article 29 of the Mexico SAT Diaries. The issue is further clarified in the definition of Carte Porte (Transportation documents required for shipping). Did you just unknowingly sign up for a single point of failure? One of the most overlooked areas of CFDI evaluation is the effect on shipping. Ask yourself one question: if we can&rsquo;t ship for a day, a few days &ndash; what will be the negative outcomes. There definitely won&rsquo;t be positive outcomes from your operations being shut down due to having no backup plan. Many corporations are not aware of this legislation and requirement as it is much different from the previous batch requirements. And many companies are just looking to sign up with a single vendor. The issue is centered on the fact that there is no &ldquo;contingency&rdquo; process in the model. For example in Brazil, an organization has two different options to get the government approval if the main government systems at the SEFAZ are down, slow or unable to be reached because of network failure. They have On Network contingency designed for fall back web service connections. This &ldquo;Provisional Danfe&rdquo; or forms process allows you to still ship as long as there is power to the printer. Your solution for Nota Fiscal can then reconcile the issues automatically once the SEFAZ is back up and running. Organizations need to understand the backup plan if the system is slow or bogged down by sudden increases in volume. In your evaluations, ask these two simple question: ulWed, 31 Jul 2013 13:45:00 GMTBanks, Mobile Technologies and SMAC, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/Banks-Mobile-Technologies-and-SMAC-Part-1
The mega-trends of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) plus IoT (Internet of Things/Connected devices/M2M) are changing entire industries. I am being asked frequently now to meet with IT and business teams to review how SMAC and related trends are impacting various industries so companies can better plan to meet these transformations. My colleague at Cognizant , Peter Abatan, is both a banking expert and a mobile technologies expert. Recently Peter has been sharing his thoughts with me on the topic of how SMAC (social, mobile analytics and cloud) trends are impacting the banking industry. Here are some excerpts from our exchanges: ulMon, 29 Jul 2013 22:37:48 GMTMexico CFDI electronic invoicing - Five Questions to Ask your PAC?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/Mexico-CFDI-electronic-invoicing-Five-Questions-to-Ask-your-PAC
There is a lot of confusion in the marketplace for solutions for Mexico CFDI. To make matters worse, the timeline for implementing CFDI is looming just around the corner on December 31, 2013. In conversations with many companies, we are seeing a wide variety of solutions. Here are the five mission critical questions you need to ask your potential providers beyond the Timbre. Important note: the Mexico government is the first government to outsource their electronic signing to third parties. Unlike the Brazil SEFAZ, Argentina AFIP or Chile SII, Mexico has taken the approach of utilizing certified third party signers on their behalf. There is often confusion in the market place that these are end to end solution providers. All a PAC is &ndash; from the true meaning of the certification, is a provider capable of producing the Timbre Fiscal. In other words, signing on behalf of the government. From a solution standpoint, the Timbre Fiscal is 10% of the solution. In simpler terms, it is like the physical stamp you use to mail a letter home to your relatives. Someone still has to get the paper, the pen, write the letter, put the letter in the envelope, write the sending address, the return address, then place the stamp on the envelope and finally take it to a mailbox which is picked up by someone. If I told you I was a certified letter writing service and all I did was put a stamp on the envelope &ndash; you would still be left with 90% of the work. This is the confusion with a PAC. Ask your provider these five questions to ensure you are purchasing an end to end solution &ndash; otherwise you will be left with 90% of the implementation, monitoring and maintenance going forward. olThu, 25 Jul 2013 14:20:00 GMTSAP NFe (Brazil Nota Fiscal) - The Cost of Change Managementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/SAP-NFe-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-The-Cost-of-Change-Management
I have written a lot on the cost of implementing Brazil Nota Fiscal, especially the hidden costs. However, in this blog, I wanted to discuss the often overlooked cost of change management. Remember that the Brazil Nota Fiscal legislation is a living and constantly evolving mandate. This means that someone has to ulWed, 17 Jul 2013 14:39:24 GMTBrazil Nota Fiscal - Key Support Costs that Go Undetectedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-Key-Support-Costs-that-Go-Undetected
The biggest issue in Brazil is not the selection of a solution for compliance, it is the ongoing support costs. Over the last 5 years, I have seen a lot of issues in global deployments that make their way into Latin America. Brazil has three requirements when implementing SAP and all are linked together. olWed, 10 Jul 2013 19:30:31 GMTLive from BI 2013: An Insider's Chat with SAP's Dan Kearnan on SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/July/Live-from-BI-2013-An-Insider-Chat-with-SAP-Dan-Kearnan-on-SAP-HANA
Watch this interview with Dan Kearnan of SAP recorded live at BI 2013 in Las Vegas. Kearnan candidly discusses adoption rates, misconceptions and implementation tips for &nbsp;SAP NetWeaver BW on SAP HANA.<br /> <div><br /> </div>Mon, 08 Jul 2013 04:00:00 GMTNew Tools for Managing Large Tables in HANA and for SAP BW on HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/New-Tools-for-Managing-Large-Tables-in-HANA-and-for-SAP-BW-on-HANA
In a 'scale-out' environment of SAP HANA, there may be many servers with InfoCubes and DSOs. Some of these can be so very large and accessed so very frequently that it can lead to bottlenecks, even for HANA. To fix this, you can partition large tables and move them across multiple servers to provide load balancing. In this blog, we look at some of the basic HANA partitioning options and new tools under development specifically for BW on HANA. By Dr. Berg h2 b /b /h2 p /p p /p p /p p /pThu, 04 Jul 2013 11:01:30 GMTRun SAP Like A Factory: Flexibility & Speedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/Run-SAP-Like-A-Factory-Flexibility-Speed
To stay at your best, you need your change control solution to be both fully integrated into the underlying SAP infrastructure and flexible enough to fit your constantly evolving implemented modules and actual processes, not some outside "ideal" of how it all ought to work. Here's why. If you find a modified IT process that achieves better results, or maybe an upgrade that modifies how different modules interact for the better, you need change control technology flexible enough to enable these changes to made and introduced quickly. It must document everything including the business or technical reasons for the changes and process followed to introduce the change (to facilitate an eventual audit) without limiting the speed at which the changes are required to be introduced. If you have to adjust your processes to fit a new change control solution, chances are you're already less nimble than you could be. Rigid change control can be quite damaging to competitive position. Markets are changing faster than ever and they won't wait politely while you catch up. If your organization operates in multiple regions, everything from currency valuations to regulatory environments can flip to something new without much notice. New technology can make today's approaches obsolete almost overnight so you need to stay flexible and nimble enough to respond quickly. For IT, it comes down to how flexible your change control strategy can be. Here are some factors to keep in mind: ulThu, 04 Jul 2013 05:13:00 GMTThe Real Cost of e-invoicing in Latin Americahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/The-Real-Cost-of-e-invoicing-in-Latin-America
There is a distinct change in the mindset of multinationals happening. The trend is becoming a reality now, and management - specifically the SAP teams - are realizing the true cost of operating electronic invoicing in Latin America. And, it&rsquo;s not a selection of a better local tool. Local solutions in each country are actually the key problem for most companies that are either rolling out SAP into Latin America or have rolled out SAP ERP in Latin America. Why you ask: ulWed, 03 Jul 2013 15:58:21 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Bob Egan on Cloud Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Bob-Egan-on-Cloud-Mobility
In this interview filmed last week in Miami, FL with mobility expert Bob Egan, we discuss cloud mobility and the role it will play in enterprises' mobile strategies. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/lryjlndvOKk ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a br / br / b /b a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a /pTue, 02 Jul 2013 15:22:25 GMTSAP BW Dates Information Design Toolhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/July/SAP-BW-Dates-Information-Design-Tool
I am having trouble in the SAP Information Design tool with dates coming in from BW tables. When I connect to the BW Table, create a date object, it comes in as a string. When I test in the Web Intelligence or Crystal Reports, it is showing as a date. Would someone please assist me with this issue. How do you get this to show as a date in the Information Design Tool? ThanksTue, 02 Jul 2013 00:35:43 GMTUnilever Goes Global with a Transformative SAP HANA Projecthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2013/July/Unilever-Goes-Global-With-A-Transformative-SAP-HANA-Project
Unilever’s 10-year plan to double its business is ambitious to say the least, and the company knows it needs to do more than simply put additional products on the shelves. Learn how Unilever took the initial steps toward this goal and significantly reduced the time the business spent on month-end financial close processes, financial analysis, and product cost forecasting processes.Mon, 01 Jul 2013 04:00:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Eugene Signorinihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Eugene-Signorini
I was able to spend time with and interview mobility expert and former Yankee Group enterprise mobility analyst, Eugene Signorini, this week in Miami, FL at the Enterprise Mobility Exchange. He is a brilliant guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Enjoy! Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=022KZ6sdHLs&feat... ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a br / br / b /b a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a /pThu, 27 Jun 2013 14:12:22 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Bob Eganhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Bob-Egan
This week I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing renown mobility expert and industry analyst Bob Egan. In this interview we focus on failure. How can a company guarantee their mobility project will fail! Enjoy! Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq1mw77GOhI&feat... ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a br / br / b /b a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a /pThu, 27 Jun 2013 14:09:33 GMTThe mobile wave is cresting: Are you paddling fast enough?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/The-mobile-wave-is-cresting-Are-you-paddling-fast-enough
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs As a kid growing up in Massachusetts, I spent a lot of time at the beach, playing in the surf. And one of my favorite activities was (okay, still is) body surfing. What I think makes it so addictive is that every wave is different, so success depends on how you position yourself and time your "launch" in relation to the indivi dual wave. You might get the ride of your life or go nowhere because you've missed the wave completely. At the risk of overusing a metaphor, I think most businesses are at that point today. The "ultimate wave" is upon us and it's called mobility. Some of us see it and are paddling like crazy to catch it but some others might not think this is the "big one" they've been waiting for. There might be a better one behind it. Well this is the big one. So start paddling! If you're still in doubt, here's some information to help convince you to start paddling. ulWed, 26 Jun 2013 17:29:31 GMTLatin America Shared Services - Top 5 Issues when evaluating AP einvoicinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Latin-America-Shared-Services-Top-5-Issues-when-evaluating-AP-einvoicing
To successfully implement Account Payable E-invoicing or Shared Services in Latin America, you will need a regional solution approach that is addressing the issues, culture and technical requirements. There are a lot of companies that will claim electronic invoicing compliance through some signing partners, but it is important to understand the real issues to successfully adopt a Shared Service strategy in Latin America. Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile are more than a digital signature. If your provider says that they have partnered with a local provider, you should ask what this means. For example, many times this just covers the digital signature requirements. And well this is great, it only covers about 10% of the issue. Below I describe the top 5 issues to figure out if a vendor is serious about solving your Latin America requirements or just providing a signature service to show some form of compliance in the region. olTue, 25 Jun 2013 14:57:31 GMTMobile Data as a Competitive Advantagehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mobile-Data-as-a-Competitive-Advantage
The success of companies today is less dependent on their physical assets, and more dependent on their ability to competitively utilize data. Just think of companies like Kodak, Borders, Blockbuster, etc., that had great physical assets but could not effectively make the transition into the data driven digital era. In the new whitepaper Code Rules: A Playbook for Managing at the Crossroads , the authors Malcolm Frank, Ben Pring and Paul Roehrig provide examples of this theory and recommendations for supporting it. This theory resonates with me. I speak weekly with service companies that want to support a real-time environment that will provide situational awareness of all field operations, but their IT infrastructures are not capable of supporting a real-time environment. This is a problem as it prevents effective use of data which limits their competitiveness. Let's image a scenario as follows - two service companies are competing for a large industrial HVAC (heating, ventilation, air, condition) contract. Company A can commit to an 8 hour SLA (service level agreement) to be onsite for repairs. Company B can commit to a 2 hour SLA. Which company has a competitive advantage? Company B has full and real-time situational awareness of the location, job status and qualifications of all of their employees and resources and can quickly and dynamically change their assignments and schedules and get them to the point of need. Company B has a better "logistics of information" system which results in a competitive advantage. Think about what it takes to support a real-time environment. It requires a different kind of IT architecture and infrastructure than many companies have today. It would be a mistake to think this is an enterprise mobility problem. It is a company problem. Today, real-time data is everything. It is not enough to only review end of quarter numbers. If there are problems in your processes or operations they should be recognized and fixed as they happen. There is a saying I read the other day that I really like, " If your customers are adopting technology at a faster rate than you are supporting it, you are opening up an opportunity fo r your competitors." Service companies need to recognize there are important sources of data (code halos) around at least five specific areas that should be properly managed and utilized: ulFri, 21 Jun 2013 15:06:27 GMTMobile Marketing, Business Analytics and Code Haloshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mobile-Marketing-Business-Analytics-and-Code-Halos
In an article I published earlier this week, Digital Transformation, Code Halos, Analytics and Mobility , I provided an overview of the concept of Code Halo&trade;. The idea is that nearly all organizations, brands, products and people are surrounded by a halo of data . Companies that recognize the value of code halos will develop new business models and IT systems to utilize these code halos to better engage with customers and prospects, deliver more relevant content and employ precision marketing and support campaigns based upon known interests and desires. Today I want to explore the role of mobile marketing and how it relates to code halos. First, let's review the four basic elements of a "logistics of information" system that can derive value from code halos: olWed, 19 Jun 2013 14:59:27 GMTMexico CFDI eInvoicing - Red Flags to Avoid or You May Miss the Deadlinehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mexico-CFDI-eInvoicing-Red-Flags-to-Avoid-or-You-May-Miss-the-Deadline
So, you have received the news by now. And, most likely the Mexico change is starting to make waves through the organization. Well, hopefully it is making waves because if it&rsquo;s not, it surely will come crashing down January 1, 2014. We estimate that 20% of multinationals or more will struggle to meet the deadline because they will fail to evaluate solutions properly. And as the reality of this change and size of this change sets in, there will be a mad rush to find solution providers. The problem is that most companies will look at the wrong problem or think that there is a standard solution from their ERP provider &ndash; rest assured this is nothing like CFD. It is not a simple XML schema or an internal signature that can be managed via a middleware like SAP PI. You have to have 3 rd parties involved beyond the ERP system as you need a government signature &ndash; and if you miscalculate the implementation, day to day maintenance and change management &ndash; you will not be able to ship, collect from customers or ensure you pay your VAT remittances correctly. Many companies will put a fire drill together and find a low cost way of doing this as it is not a budgeted project. However, the low cost solution will only look low cost because they will leave you doing all the work. Getting the "timbre fiscal" and unique IDs through the government providers is not the real problem with CFDI. The real problem is with the SAP configuration and customer specific requirements that you deal with on a daily basis. So here are RED FLAGS to be aware of : If a solution providers says to you: "Just map your SAP data to this standard file format" -- please raise the flag and start waving. This is the most overlooked issue and the one that will derail your project and create issues with Customer collections and Supplier payments. Why you ask: it is because there is no such thing as a standard SAP solution. No one company has implemented SAP ERP the same, there are pricing configurations unique to their business, unique internal processes such as payables processing, and unique end customer requests. ulWed, 19 Jun 2013 14:27:15 GMTDigital Transformation, Code Halos, Analytics and Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Digital-Transformation-Code-Halos-Analytics-and-Mobility
A retailers' mantra throughout history has been location, location location. This is always important, but perhaps of less value than other innovations caused by digital transformations today. The ongoing digital transformation of many industries has created new competitive playing fields that are increasingly related to data. The winners are those that can more quickly collect, analyze, report, make data driven decisions and capture value from the data. The data that surrounds customers, partners, companies and individuals is called "code halos&trade;" by my colleagues at the Center for the Future of Work in their new whitepaper Code Rules . It is their analysis that companies that understand and manage code halos most effectively will be the winners in their industries. Let me paint two scenes for you. 1) A brick and mortar retail operation is located on Main street, advertises in the local newspaper and via the Yellow Pages. Greets their anonymous customers at the door with a cheerful "hello" and waves goodbye when they purchase their products from the store. The store does not know or track their customers' names, preferences or the products they purchase. 2) A brick and mortar retail operation recognizes the value of being on Main street, but also in having a strong web and mobile presence, tracking their customers via loyalty and opt-in online/mobile marketing campaigns and providing customized experiences and marketing that meet the preferences of each individual customer based on collected and analyzed data. As a result, they have mobile apps, websites and enable customers to document their preferences, likes and favorites. Each customer has an account that enables the retail store to see their personal details and track their purchases, interests and buying habits, etc. The retailer analyzes the data, and then provides a customized and personal buying and marketing experience for them. This is a simple illustration of the differences in how retail companies may engage their customers before and after they recognize the value of code halos. Store number 2 recognizes that each customer has a code halo of data about their demographics, buying habits, history, preferences, neighborhoods, lifestyles, etc. Store number 2 collects the data and uses the data to improve their marketing and customer engagements, while store number 1 does not. Which store do you think is going to be more competitive? I believe store number 2. In most military organizations today, they believe the effective use of data or the " Fifth Dimension " of warfare is critical. The first four dimensions are land, sea, air and space. Recently the fifth dimension has been added to emphasize that organizations and nations must now learn to effectively use data defensively and offensively in times of conflict. Military organizations, much like companies in the commercial sector, must now compete in the fifth dimension and the management of code halos. Recognizing the importance of code halos and the fifth dimension of warfare is not enough, however. Organizations must employ what is called a "logistics of information" systems capable of supporting a competitive environment. This is not easy. Store number 1 mentioned earlier does not have a code halo strategy or the logistics of information system in place to be competitive. They are not even capable of putting a team on the field. What must be included in order to successfully employ an effective "logistics of information" system that can process and utilize code halos? Let me list a few: olTue, 18 Jun 2013 13:54:53 GMTMexico eInvoicing - Solutions Need to Solve AR, AP and Logistics Issueshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mexico-eInvoicing-Solutions-Need-to-Solve-AR-AP-and-Logistics-Issues
With the December 31, 2013 deadline around the corner, it is now more critical than ever to make sure that you have a strategy in place in order to stay compliant and avoid costly fines. Being able to quickly change and adapt your ERP system and business processes to meet these mandates is a costly and time consuming operation. Unfortunately, most organizations are not prepared for the upcoming changes and will underestimate the work load involved in meeting these new mandates. The business impact of CFDI is vast and will affect Account Receivables, Logistics, and Account Payables. ulFri, 14 Jun 2013 16:29:48 GMTSAPinsider Says Vaarwel Amsterdam, Hello Singaporehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/SAPinsider-Says-Vaarwel-Amsterdam-Hello-Singapore
Well SAPinsider Amsterdam has come to a close. Big congrats to the teams at SAPinsider and SAP for a job well done. In this "on the scene" video, SAP's Michael Lortz and our own Riz Ahmed close it down in Amsterdam (literally) and provide a sneak peek into where the SAPinsider road show goes next -- Singapore ! #SAPinsiderAPJFri, 14 Jun 2013 14:07:18 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Florian Ganzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Florian-Ganz
In this short video interview with mobility expert Florian Ganz, recorded in Lisbon, Portugal last week, I ask his opinions on how to select the most appropriate mobility platforms, cloud mobility and when to use HTML5. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/6DKgCoHX_bA ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a br / br / b /b a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a /pWed, 12 Jun 2013 14:43:43 GMTSAP Raises the Bar in Workplace Equalityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/SAP-Raises-the-Bar-in-Workplace-Equality
by Amanda McKeon SAP has launched an initiative that has the potential to change the lives of thousands of people across the globe. No, I&rsquo;m not talking about the Skills for Africa program again &mdash; this time, SAP has its eye on people with autism. There are approximately 48 million people in the world diagnosed with autism today and unfortunately, many schools and businesses are not equipped to give this large number of people the opportunities they deserve. Numbers vary greatly, but some reports state that the unemployment rate for people with autism may be as high as 66% or even 85%, compared to 9% of people without a disability! Fortunately, not all companies see autism as a disability. In fact, SAP understands that people with this condition may have an advantage over others in the software industry as they generally have a unique focus and attention to detail that lends itself well to software testing, programming, and data quality assurance. SAP is partnering with Specialisterne, a Denmark-based company that works to employ individuals with autism as consultants in IT and other technical sectors, and will be the first company to bring this initiative to a global level. The pilot program that will run in India, Ireland, the US, Canada, and Germany will be launched later this year. By 2020, SAP expects that 1% of its employees around the world will have autism. According to the autism advocacy organization Autism Speaks , &ldquo;this move shows that SAP recognizes that approximately 1 percent of the world&rsquo;s population is on the autism spectrum and should be equally represented in the workforce.&rdquo; The organization hopes that companies around the world will follow SAP&rsquo;s lead and see the true value in people with autism.Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:59:06 GMTTest Wallhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Test
<div id='cil-root-block-be0c05379f' class='cil-root'><span class='cil-config-data' title='{"altcastCode":"be0c05379f","server":"www.coveritlive.com","geometry":{"width":950,"height":600},"configuration":{"embedType":"blockimages","blockItemTypes":["host_comment","image","tweet","instagram","wikipedia","youtube","rss","guest_comment","facebook"]}}'>&nbsp;</span></div><script type='text/javascript'>window.cilAsyncInit = function() {cilEmbedManager.init()};(function() {if (window.cilVwRand === undefined) { window.cilVwRand = Math.floor(Math.random()*10000000); }var e = document.createElement('script');e.async = true;var domain = (document.location.protocol == 'http:') ? '//cdnsl.coveritlive.com' : '//cdnslssl.coveritlive.com';e.src = document.location.protocol + domain + '/vw.js?v=' + window.cilVwRand;e.id = 'cilScript-be0c05379f';document.getElementById('cil-root-block-be0c05379f').appendChild(e);}());</script>Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:00:00 GMTGartner's Latest Thoughts on Enterprise Mobility and SMAChttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Gartners-Latest-Thoughts-on-Enterprise-Mobility-and-SMAC
I had the good fortune to attend a session this morning at ClickSoftware's ClickConnect Europe 2013 with Gartner's Research Director Dr. Richard M. Marshall. Here are some of the notes I took from the session: ulWed, 05 Jun 2013 15:05:58 GMTMexico Factura Electronica - CFDI is Mandated, There is NO CFD Grandfathering!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/Mexico-Factura-Electronica-CFDI-is-Mandated-There-is-NO-CFD-Grandfathering
With the announcment on May 31, 2013 of the updates to einvoicing in Mexico, there is a huge amount of interest - yet one potential failing of many companies. CFD is sunset, there are no "grandfather" clauses in the updates. Many organizations have been lulled into a peaceful sleep with the older knowledge that the government would still accept CFD. This is because in the past (and by past I mean before May 31, 2013) you could still send CFD XML if you had been doing CFD prior to Jan 1, 2010. There have been a number of CFDI mandates since then, and the CFD "grandfather" clause had always applied. UNTIL NOW -- in the resolution posted on the Mexico SAT website CFD is no longer viable as of January 1, 2014: The official documentation of the legislative changes was published: El 31 de mayo de 2013 se publica en el DOF la 2&ordf; Resoluci&oacute;n de Modificaciones a la Resoluci&oacute;n Miscel&aacute;nea Fiscal para 2013 (2&ordf; RM para la RMF 2013). Link to Mexico SAT Documentation With CFD eInvoicing no longer allowed -- are are the basics you need to understand about CFDI in Mexico:Establishing a Legal Entity olTue, 04 Jun 2013 16:35:16 GMT76 Steps in a BW-to-HANA Migration Workplanhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/June/76-steps-in-a-BW-to-HANA-migration-Workplan
Many organizations are planning to move BW to HANA and are looking for information on how to do this. In this blog, Dr. Berg takes a look at some of the major tasks to consider when moving BW to HANA. We also include references to notes and transactions so that you can get started on writing your more detailed project plan.Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:00:39 GMTMexico Changed eInvoicing Law - Affects 500,000 Companieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mexico-Changed-eInvoicing-Law-Affects-500000-Companies
Today, May 31, 2013, the Mexico SAT, their governmental tax agency, announced the mandatory transition of all invoices, for companies generating more than 250,000 pesos in revenue annually, to an electronic process known as CFDI. With nearly 500,000 organizations potentially having to switch by the end of 2013, there will be a mad rush to identify resources and solutions through the summer of 2013. You should have a team focused on solving these issues no later than July 1, 2013. It is now more critical than ever to make sure that you have a strategy in place in order to stay compliant and avoid costly fines. Being able to quickly change and adapt your ERP system and business processes to meet these mandates is a costly and time consuming operation. Unfortunately, most organizations are not prepared for the upcoming changes and will underestimate the work load involved in meeting these new mandates. Four Things You Need to Know: ulFri, 31 May 2013 22:39:07 GMTSMAC Expert Series: SAP's Sameer Patelhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SMAC-Expert-Series-SAPs-Sameer-Patel
Is your company thinking about enterprise social collaboration platforms? Many CIOs are in the process of testing collaboration platforms today, but not quite knowing what to do with them. In this short video interview, recorded at SAPPHIRE NOW 2013 a couple of weeks ago, SAP's GM for Enterprise Social Software, Sameer Patel answers my questions on social platforms. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/8nUf5NXF-go ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pWed, 29 May 2013 14:40:00 GMTGetting Ready for HR2013 Amsterdamhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Getting-Ready-for-HR2013-Amsterdam
Hi Friends, In just a few weeks, I will be travelling to beautiful Amsterdam to attend, exhibit, and speak at SAPInsider's HR2013. This year's program is chuck full of goodness, with some excellent speakers attending from all over the world. Some hot topics and questions are sure to be some of the following: ulSun, 26 May 2013 00:09:15 GMTLessons in Innovation: A Report From the MIT Sloan CIO Symposiumhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Lessons-in-Innovation-A-Report-From-the-MIT-Sloan-CIO-Symposium
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs In opening the day's first panel at the MIT CIO Symposium yesterday, moderator Joe Chung of Redstar Ventures fooled us. While discussing the CEO's role in driving innovation, he told a story about how innovation giant Apple was way too far in front of the curve with a new mobile technology. Odd, right? Because most people think of Apple as being the very model for timing the launch of a new mobile device. But Chung wasn't talking about the iPhone. Or the iPad. Or the iPod. He was talking about the Newton. The Apple Newton, a PDA released in 1993, when the term PDA meant something very different. "It just didn't work," Chung said of the $100 million venture spearheaded by then Apple CEO John Sculley. So what's the lesson there? Apple didn't simply stop innovating. It kept coming at it and later developed the mobile device that changed the world. While Chung fooled us all with his Newton story, it led in to the question of the day: How can innovation be groomed in an organization and particularly, what role can the CIO serve in that process? During the CEO panel, for example, Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai Technologies, emphasized the danger of the HIPPO effect, where the highest paid person in the organization present in the room gets final say on an idea. "Innovation is like a spark in that it can be extinguished quite easily. One person just has to say 'no' and an idea is dead. So for innovation to flourish, you need to fan the flames." To help fan those flames at his company, Leighton hosts an Innovation Showcase each quarter where innovative ideas from within Akamai--a product, business process improvement, anything--are showcased. Kazu Gomi, CEO of NTT America, pointed out that the top priority for CIOs today is bringing more value to their companies and the best way to do that is by leading and encouraging innovation that creates more efficiency and better products or services. The members of the CIO panel later in the morning put a finer point on that theme. Michael Golz, SVP and CIO Americas for SAP, said the "SAP Runs SAP" strategy has been very effective in helping drive innovation throughout the company. Not only does it provide early and educated feedback on new products, but it also lets the CIO talk to customers and early adopters as peers -- both users of the same technology. (He even used one of my least favorite business expressions -- "open the kimono" to describe it). Golz also pointed to an internal "gallery" of apps that SAP uses to encourage employees to be more innovative. In fact, he pointed out that a single sign-on app that is used in nearly all SAP products today was actually developed by a young employee in SAP purchasing. In short, Golz said, IT has to change its perception from being an internal service to being a key part of the business. But to do that, a lot has to change. Panelist Georgia Papathomas, VP and CIO of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, pointed out that "one of the problems with IT is that everything takes too long." Leveraging new technology like cloud and mobile, however, can make the average IT organization much more agile in its work, so that the business doesn't want to make its decisions without IT's involvement. Another way that both Golz and Papathomas agreed IT can change its perception is with language. "Our biggest challenge is to get IT not to talk 'IT' because we talk a language the business does not," Papathomas said. Golz added that providing new technology to high-level executives in the business first can be an effective method of spreading the technology rather than starting at the user level. Along those lines, in an afternoon panel focusing on agility, Michael Relich, EVP and CIO at Guess Inc. described a project where he hired a graphic designer to build Hollywood-themed dashboards for a more user-friendly feel that tied rich media to deep data. It was an informative day and by the end of it all, the message was clear -- the key to IT and the CIO driving innovation across the business is to develop its relationship with the business more. Because you just never know where the next great idea may come from.Thu, 23 May 2013 20:55:56 GMTBringing World-Class IT Skills to the Developing Worldhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Bringing-World-Class-IT-Skills-to-the-Third-World
SAP is known for its world-class software that helps companies around the globe run their businesses better. The company is also setting its eye on bigger goals that help the world run better and improve people&rsquo;s lives.&nbsp; Jim Hagemann Snabe, SAP&rsquo;s co-CEO, recently visited Johannesburg, South Africa to announce the launch of a skills development program called &ldquo;Skills for Africa.&rdquo; The program is designed help develop information and communications technology skills for African students, giving them opportunities that were previously out of reach. More so than just empowering students, the larger goal is to improve Africa&rsquo;s economic growth and infrastructure development. Since many areas do not have access to fast Internet speeds (or have an Internet connection at all), the majority of Skills for Africa training will take place in the classroom and through e-learning materials. The program is predominately designed for self-study so students can learn on their own time and in the way that works best for them. The program&rsquo;s pilot phase successfully kicked off in Kenya in the fall of 2012, with over 100 students enrolled. Over the next few years, SAP will roll out the program to students in South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and Angola. Some of these countries have unemployment rates as high as 48%, so the hope is the program will bring those numbers down dramatically. Skills for Africa sets SAP apart from its competitors. It will be very exciting to see what effects the program will have over the next few years.Thu, 23 May 2013 18:22:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Oliver Betzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Oliver-Betz
In this short interview recorded at SAPPHIRE NOW 2013, I ask mobile expert Oliver Betz his thoughts on mobile app design strategies. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/YP2Vhjjtwvw ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pThu, 23 May 2013 15:04:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Puneet Suppalhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Puneet-Suppal
In this interview recorded last week at SAPPHIRE NOW 2013, I ask SAP Hana Guru Puneet Suppal about the connection between enterprise mobility, M2M or IoT, real-time business and SAP Hana. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/-uqIRD7wRgs ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pWed, 22 May 2013 14:30:13 GMTSAP and Sports: What's the Catch?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SAP-and-Sports-Whats-the-Catch
by Ken Murphy @KMurphyWisPubs During the SAPPHIRE NOW opening keynote last week, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank took the stage with SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott and explained how he set out to re-invent the plain, gray sweat-soaked T-shirt by introducing something that aided performance and looked good at the same time. The sweaty T-shirt, he argued, added weight, and weight slows you down. Logical enough. Plank parlayed this reasoning into a $1.8 billion company (with SAP as the company&rsquo;s tech partner since 2005) steamrolling holdovers like me who actually liked the sweaty T-shirt as a visible sign of accomplishment. (Peeling off a sweat-soaked T after a run was one of the more satisfying parts of the work-out; like taking off a pair of ski boots at the end of the day, but I digress.) Then again, Plank didn&rsquo;t build a multi-billion dollar company by marketing to weekend warriors like me. He went after NFL and college football players, and we weekend warriors gamely followed along, convinced in short order that &ldquo;cotton is rotten&rdquo; because, well, all the cool kids were doing it (read: ballplayers). The sports angle, though, at least initially, probably had little to do with SAP&rsquo;s interest in the &ldquo;performance apparel&rdquo; market. SAP just saw a growing company and believed it could help take it places. Of course, Plank&rsquo;s appearance on-stage with other sports figures during the opening SAPPHIRE keynote does make one wonder why SAP&rsquo;s interest in sports is seemingly on the rise. Is it because McDermott&rsquo;s grandfather is in the NBA Hall of Fame? Is it because co-founder Hasso Plattner is majority owner of the NHL&rsquo;s San Jose Sharks (tied 2-2 with the L.A. Kings in the Stanley Cup playoffs)? Is it because SAP teamed with the NFL&rsquo;s San Francisco 49ers to help deliver the &ldquo; ultimate fan experience &rdquo;? Or, perhaps more accurately, is it because SAP sees that harnessing the nexus of forces as they relate to the sports world is a great way to tap into the roughly $25 billion in revenue generated by the four major U.S. sports leagues? Plank let it be known during the keynote that Under Armour plans to be a huge player in the wearable technology craze, which pro sports leagues will no doubt be affiliated with. This timely announcement, though far from a secret , came just three days before a Credit Suisse report (which Business Insider cites here ) claiming that while wearable technology is roughly a $5 billion market today; it will balloon to perhaps a $50 billion industry in just a few years. That&rsquo;s a lot of electronics on a lot of clothing, and a lot of opportunity for technology companies wishing to expand from traditional on-premise enterprise installations. SAP&rsquo;s plans to come along for the ride is the enterprise equivalent of not wanting to be the last one stuck with a closet full of heavy cotton athletic T-shirts. Some other fun tidbits from the Credit Suisse report: ulWed, 22 May 2013 14:09:50 GMTDemo: SAP HANA, 426 million rows and BusinessObject toolshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Demo-SAP-HANA-426-million-rows-and-BusinessObject-tools
In this blog we look at a demo of SAP BusinessObjects on HANA with 426 million rows and a BI Workspace with 3 Dashbaords, WebI, Analysis and Crystal Reports. By Dr. Berg h2 strong /strong /h2 p /pTue, 21 May 2013 16:49:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Kurt Stammbergerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Kurt-Stammberger
Last week at SAP's Sapphire Now 2013 in Orlando, Florida, SAP announced they would begin reselling mobile secure app solutions from Mocana . In this press release they describe the role of Mocana in their mobile security portfolio. In this short interview with Mocana's VP of Marketing, I ask about their solutions and how they fit in the SAP Mobile Platform strategy. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/KTnV6HXjcUU ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pTue, 21 May 2013 14:03:33 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Brent Cohler on SAP Precision Marketing and Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Brent-Cohler-on-SAP-Precision-Marketing-and-Mobility
In this short video recorded in Orlando, Florida last week at SAP's SAPPHIRE NOW 2013, I interview SAP's Brent Cohler on SAP's mobile marketing solution called SAP Precision Marketing and learn about customer use cases and value propositions. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/HI4CHh7yxdI ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pTue, 21 May 2013 14:02:26 GMTSAP eInvoicing - Mexico CFDI Transition - You better be preparedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SAP-eInvoicing-Mexico-CFDI-Transition-You-better-be-prepared
The chatter has begun in Mexico around the upcoming changes to CFDI. With more than 500,000 companies potentially affected, there is a lot of posturing by solutions in the market place. But what is important and can derail your transition is not the obvious, but what is in the details. If you overlook these following requirements, you may find your company in an audit or facing stiff penalties. olTue, 21 May 2013 13:36:28 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Mark Croftonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Mark-Crofton
In this short interview recorded this week in Orlando, FL at SAPPHIRE NOW 2013, SAP's Mark Crofton talks about mobile solutions, mobile banking and trends in Latin America. Enjoy! Video Link: youtu.be/C_Hejd5622U ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pFri, 17 May 2013 15:01:45 GMTLive from SAPinsider CRM 2013: An Insider's chat with Scott Druckenmiller and Prashant Dube of SAPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/May/Live-From-SAPinsider-CRM-2013-An-Insider-S-Chat-With-Scott-Druckenmiller-And-Prashant-Dube-Of-SAP
In this interview recorded live at CRM 2013, Scott Druckenmiller and Prashant Dube of SAP Solution Management discuss the latest upgrades in SAP 360 Customer powered by SAP HANA enhancement pack 2.0, touching on the latest in customer engagement techniques and practices within on-premise, cloud, mobile, social, and analytical frameworks.Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP M2M Expert Suhas Uliyar Shares Strategies for the Internet of Thingshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SAP-M2M-Expert-Suhas-Uliyar-Shares-Strategies-for-the-Internet-of-Things
This is one of the most informative interviews I have recorded on the subject of the IoT (Internet of Things). IoT is a big subject here at SAPPHIRE NOW 2013. In this interview Suhas Uliyar shares what an end-to-end M2M (machine to machine) solution looks like in an SAP world. Learn how the SAP Mobile Platform, Hana, Syclo, Right Hemisphere/ SAP Visual Enterprise, Afaria, Augmented Reality, Mapping, cloud computing and SAP NetWeaver all work together in an M2M solution. Video Link: youtu.be/vJMCzQS-9wA div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pThu, 16 May 2013 15:16:18 GMTMobile Security Updates from SAPPHIRE 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Mobile-Security-Updates-from-SAPPHIRE-2013
Yesterday at SAPPHIRE 2013 the SAP mobility team announced a new SAP Afaria in the Cloud edition that will be available for approximately $1.12 per month per device ( read press release ). Some vendors charge by user, rather than by device, but SAP says they want to know exactly how many devices they are managing. Sanjay Poonen said the cloud is the direction MDM is going. In fact, the cloud model can be updated and upgraded much faster than the on-premise version of Afaria. I believe this. We don't expect to buy a separate security model to speak on our phones, likewise, we ultimately want all mobile voice and data security to simply be part of the network. In addition to the cloud edition of SAP Afaria, SAP announced a partnership with MAM (mobile application management) company Mocana ( read press release ). I was told by several SAP folks that MDM (mobile device management) is quickly becoming a commodity, and the future will be in mobile application management. Mocana, is not an exclusive partner of SAP, but SAP will be putting significant resources behind this relationship. I asked an SAP representative why they didn't simply acquire Mocana? The unofficial answer was we are not certain which mobile application management and MDM model will ultimately win. We are happy to partner with leaders and observe how the market matures. This again, points to the value of using a cloud solution when the future direction of the product category is unclear. Why place big bets on such a dynamic space, when cloud options are available? ************************************************************* div b /b a href="http://www.cognizant.com/" /a /div p a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict" /a span /span br / br / span /span b /b span /span a href="http://get.cognizant.com/register" /a span /span /pThu, 16 May 2013 15:13:31 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW-ASUG Day 1 in the bookshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-ASUG-Day-1-in-the-books
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Well if it was customer benchmarking you were looking for, you got your iPad full today. The morning keynote hosted by SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott and his surprise guest host featured three unique SAP customers. (For more on that, check out Ken Murphy's review of it here ). After the keynote, the trio of SAP customers -- Under Armour, NBA, and the 49ers -- joined McDermott for a press conference where the customers elaborated a bit on what they hoped to get from their SAP solutions. Sports fans, they said, are now consuming these sports through data, as much as by watching the games. Fantasy sports, gambling, even apparel purchases are all driven by data. So providing more of that data to sports fans will only increase fan loytalty. Whether it's draft data or biometric data direct from the players, these companies are looking into new ways of using this data to increase customer (aka fan) engagement. But the keynote panel was only the start of the customer best practices. The ASUG sessions over on the South Concourse were packed with useful case studies on a variety of topics. Aerospace firm Rockwell Collins described its user training strategy which included establishing a change management office in the company. Entegris' Helen Frericks outlined the proper care and feeding for a successful super user program, providing a six-point plan to rebuilding your super user program. "Super users are often the first to get hired by other companies," she said. "Some don't get used after go-live and get bored and don't volunteer the next time around." Dutch brewing giant Heineken provided a detailed look at its SAP testing strategy in another session, providing seven testing principles it used to standardize its programs. The ASUG keynote wrapped up the day and author Seth Godin provided his very unique take on...human behavior? It was an engaging and active presentation to end an engaging and active day. Well that's it for me for now. More tomorrow.Wed, 15 May 2013 01:49:32 GMTDigital Transformation, Retailing and Mobile Technologieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Digital-Transformation-Retailing-and-Mobile-Technologies
Today I read the results of a report from Google titled, How In-store Shoppers are Using Mobile Devices that states the following, "One in three shoppers uses their smartphones to find information instead of asking for help from a store employee. In some categories 55 percent say they do this when shopping for appliances, 48 percent for electronics, 40 percent for baby care and 39 percent for household care." Those numbers point to a significant change in retailing. They point to a self-help transformation enabled by mobile devices. Companies that want to thrive in retail must embrace these behaviors by acknowledging them and adapting their strategies. Here are some more interesting results from the report: divTue, 14 May 2013 13:39:47 GMTLive from SAPinsider CRM 2013: An Insider's chat with Honeywell Automation and Control Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/May/Live-From-SAPinsider-CRM-2013-An-Insider-S-Chat-With-Honeywell-Automation-And-Control-Solutions
In this interview recorded live at CRM 2013, Andy Diehl and Dan Anderson of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions discuss how the organization focused on enhancing its customers&rsquo; online experience with an upgrade to SAP Web Channel 7.0. Learn how Honeywell provided customers with a best-in-class user experience, greater reliability, and improved stability while also giving the business greater insight into its growing online customer base.Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider CRM 2013: An Insider's chat with Terence Chesire of SAPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/May/Live-From-SAPinsider-CRM-2013-An-Insider-S-Chat-With-Terence-Chesire-Of-SAP
In this interview recorded live at CRM 2013, Terence Chesire of SAP Outbound Product Management talks about the social media functionality within SAP Customer On-Demand: social media analytics and social on-demand. Chesire shares with us how the solution gives an organization the tools to listen to and analyze sentiment concerning their brand, and then use that information effectively to engage with customers.Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider CRM 2013: An Insider's chat with Jim Goldfinger of SAPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/May/Live-From-SAPinsider-CRM-2013-An-Insider-S-Chat-With-Jim-Goldfinger-Of-SAP
In this interview recorded live at CRM 2013, Jim Goldfinger, SAP&rsquo;s CRM customer value network lead, discusses effectiveness vs. efficiency as it relates to an organization maximizing the return on its CRM investment. Aligning CRM with corporate goals means utilizing the solution to leverage real-time information so customer-facing professionals are speaking and selling to the right customers at the right time with the right product.Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP eInvoicing - The Basics in Chile for DTE eInvoicinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SAP-eInvoicing-The-Basics-in-Chile-for-DTE-eInvoicing
Latin America continues to show why they lead the world in electronic invoicing. Below I cover the basics of the Chile eInvoice. Chile was one of the first movers in electronic invoicing and they have one of the more complex environments. The model is unique but does take into account some similar processes from other Latin America countries. As you look for solutions in the market place, be sure you understand Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile which lead the world in eInvoicing adoption and usage. The Chilean electronic invoicing model combines elements of the batch-oriented folio scheme used in the legacy Mexican CFD model along with the real-time communication as found in Brazil and Argentina. The process begins in two steps - first a delivery document (the &ldquo;Gia Despacho&rdquo; or &ldquo;bill of lading&rdquo;) is generated and registered with the government as the initial transport event, and then the other fiscal documents (like invoice or credit/debit notes) are generated and registered with reference to that event as follow-on activities occur later in the process. Currently, there are 12 types of electronic fiscal documents, referred to collectively as &ldquo;Documentos Tributarios Electr&oacute;nicos&rdquo; or DTE. Each document type has its own series of government issued folio numbers, which are consumed by the company in sequence as each DTE is produced. The fiscal data required for each document is packaged in a DTE specific XML format, and then signed and registered with the government in real time via web services exposed by the Chilean tax authority. Additionally, at the end of each month, a set of up to four compliance reports are uploaded to the government web site, either manually or through automated web service. These reports summarize the DTE transactions produced during the month and specifically account for each folio used or destroyed as well. Folios can be skipped or voided through automated web service and any paper DTE&rsquo;s issued in contingency must appear on these reports as well. Customers registered for outbound DTE must be able to receive it inbound also. This involves providing a XML response back via email to the email address registered by the supplier on the SII website. There are currently no requirements for inbound fiscal compliance validation, though the XML structure fully supports it. div /divThu, 09 May 2013 14:00:04 GMTEnterprise and Consumer Mobility and Travel Strategieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Enterprise-and-Consumer-Mobility-and-Travel-Strategies
I teach a lot of SMAC strategies workshops (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) around the world. Conducting these involves a lot of travel. I have been pondering these last few days just how much my travel experience has changed over the past decade. Today, mobile smartphones can provide the following: Push to buy the Heathrow Express train ticket from an app on my iPhone Translate foreign languages live on screen Get real-time transportation advice Locate myself anywhere in the world on a map Use my iPhone compass app to know where North is located Use my smartphone screen as a boarding pass Find a Thai restaurant and read the social reviews Book my dinner reservation Help find a last-minute hotel room or book a Marriott property Book, change or review my airline reservation (change my seats to be as comfortable as possible) Help me understand how long it will take to travel from point A in London, to point B Read about any location, building, historical event, city or neighborh...Wed, 08 May 2013 13:17:34 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW is basically… now! A look at SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-is-basically-now-A-look-at-SAP-Business-Suite-powered-by-SAP-HANA
by Amanda McKeon SAPPHIRE NOW and the ASUG Annual Conference are right around the corner. By now, most of you have probably already seen the monstrous list of sessions &mdash; over 2,000 courses and demos with an incredibly vast range of topics from SAP HANA to sustainability to the basics of SAP ERP. That&rsquo;s a lot to take in! Unfortunately, since it is physically impossible to attend every session &mdash; if you can, please call me so we can start a superhero task league! &mdash; it is important to take a breath and decide which topics are the most beneficial to your company. I&rsquo;m of the mindset that new is always better, so I was excited to see a lot of sessions focusing on SAP HANA, and specifically SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA. While SAP HANA has been something of a black box to business users, now they will be able to see how it impacts their daily tasks directly. Read what some of the early adopters of SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA are saying in t...Mon, 06 May 2013 20:19:20 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Preview: A Discussion with SAP Mentor Jon Reedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Preview-A-Discussion-With-SAP-Mentor-Jon-Reed
In this podcast, SAP Mentor and independent analyst Jon Reed discusses some of the things that he will be looking for from SAP at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando beginning May 14, such as an overall integration strategy, and the company’s plans for the cloud. Reed also shares his thoughts on the best way SAP customers who aren’t at the event can monitor the proceedings in Orlando.Mon, 06 May 2013 15:23:47 GMTBig Data and Mobility Change the Way We Livehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Big-Data-and-Mobility-Change-the-Way-We-Live
This week I read an interesting article titled, Mobile Phone Data Redraws Bus Routes in Africa . Seems the MNO (mobile network operator) Orange released 2.5 billion phone records (anonymised data) from 5 million phones for an exercise on how Big Data could be used to improve lives. The data was used by IBM's research laboratory in Dublin to determine how people could reduce travel times in the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. They compared the locations of actual mobile phone usage with current bus routes, and then developed a plan to change the bus routes to more efficiently serve the actual locations of where people lived. They reported there could be a 10% reduction in travel times by following their plan. This is very interesting to me. Instead of guessing how people live, travel and use their mobile phones - big data reports the facts. If you combine telco data with actual public transportation data and other sources you can learn an immense amount about the world we live in, and...Mon, 06 May 2013 13:12:59 GMTLive from SAPinsider GRC 2013: An Insider's Chat with Steve Biskie of High Water Advisorshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/May/Live-from-SAPinsider-GRC-2013-An-Insiders-Chat-with-Steve-Biskie-of-High-Water-Advisors
In this interview recorded live at GRC 2013, Steve Biskie of High Water Advisors provides his take on the newly released SAP Fraud Management application powered by SAP HANA, which was unveiled at GRC 2013. Biskie also gives his advice on who in the organization should review the SAP instance in preparation for an audit and how to use SAP solutions to detect SOD violations before an auditor does.&nbsp;<br /> <div><br /> </div>Mon, 06 May 2013 04:00:00 GMTLive from SAPinsider SCM 2013: An Insider's chat with Tim Craigmyle of IBMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2013/May/Live-from-SAPinsider-SCM-2013-An-Insiders-chat-with-Tim-Craigmyle-of-IBM
In this interview recorded live at SCM 2013, IBM Supply Chain subject matter expert Tim Craigmyle talks about the latest enhancements to SAP Extended Warehouse Management (SAP EWM) 9.0, including integration with SAP Transportation Management. Listen in as Craigmyle provides a comprehensive overview of the solution, as well as offers some expert advice about adhering to an 80-20 balance when building out a global template.<br />Mon, 06 May 2013 04:00:00 GMTA 360-degree perspective on SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/A-360-degree-perspective-on-SAP-HANA
By Dave Hannon, Senior Features Editor @Daveatwispubs Anyone involved in the SAP world has no doubt heard a lot and has probably been talking a lot about SAP HANA, SAP's in-memory solution. With SAPPHIRE NOW coming up there's sure to be even more news about the latest innovations fueled by SAP HANA, and rightfully so. I'm not going to take down any kittens here, but SAP HANA really is that innovative of a technology with direct benefits to a number of business processes and industries. The next step for you, the SAP customer, is to determine how this technology applies to your business and processes. There's a LOT of information out there about SAP HANA, and while I'm all for more information, I also know information overload can lead to avoidance. But when you really get down to it, to effectively evaluate any technology, there are three perspectives you really need to get beyond those of your own company. The vendor's perspective. You need to understand how the vendor describes t...Fri, 03 May 2013 16:55:00 GMTThe "Run SAP Like a Factory" Metaphorhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/The-Run-SAP-Like-a-Factory-Metaphor
The current SAP initiative to &ldquo;Run SAP Like A Factory&rdquo; may seem a little vague, but having a background as a process engineer in a manufacturing plant, I can assure you it makes a good analogy. If one thinks of factories as assembly lines where specific, defined tasks are done in a specific order to produce a standard result in the most efficient way possible, then you have it. Every completed product coming out of the plant looking the same, built the same way and passing the same QA test along the way means assurance that what customers pay for is exactly what they are going to get. Lines of workers, each tightening their assigned three bolts or assembling Piece A to Piece B, as an automobile or coffee pot comes together to emerge from the factory complete and ready for market. Such analogies are never perfect. Consider a pineapple juice factory. Pineapples go in at one end and cans of juice in shipping boxes come out the other end to be sent all over the world. In be...Fri, 03 May 2013 06:45:24 GMTDriven to Distraction: Can Cars and Internet of Things Share Road?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/May/Driven-to-Distraction-Can-Cars-and-Internet-of-Things-Share-Road
by Ken Murphy @KMurphyWisPubs There is a great blog up on the SAP Community Network about mobility&rsquo;s place behind the wheel, followed by a poll (log-in required to vote) asking readers to weigh in on the subject. A quick recap of the excellent post by SCN moderator Jennifer Lankheim: A California driver was cited for using Google Maps on his iPhone, but contested the citation because the &ldquo;hands free&rdquo; law under which he was cited &ndash; while prohibiting listening, talking, or texting on a mobile device while driving &ndash; did not specifically address looking at one. The driver argued it wasn&rsquo;t illegal to look at a paper map, so why a map on a mobile device? The driver lost, and then lost an appeal when a three-judge panel ruled that the law, though &ldquo;illogical and arbitrary&rdquo;, was passed with the purpose of eliminating distractions inherent with using a phone while driving. As someone whose home state of Massachusetts recently enacted a law agai...Wed, 01 May 2013 18:40:37 GMTTips for SAP GRC audits: Q&A with GRC 2013 speaker Marc Jackson (transcript)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/April/Tips-for-SAP-GRC-audits-QA-with-GRC-2013-speaker-Marc-Jackson-transcript
In his session at GRC 2013 , compliance and security Marc Jackson makes the case for auditing your SAP GRC systems &ndash; something not to be overlooked in your system audits. In a recent online Q&A on Insider Learning Network, Turnkey Consulting's Marc Jackson took questions on GRC audits, useful transactions and tools, auditing performance and transport paths, the affect of the ABAP stack now in release 10.0, Firefighter audits, and other topics. Read the Q&A in our Compliance Forum , or review our edited transcript here: Matt Moore, GRC 2013: Welcome to today's forum on strategies and tools to audit your SAP GRC system. I&rsquo;m pleased that we have Marc Jackson from Turnkey Consulting here to take your questions. Marc is a Manager with Turnkey and is responsible for delivering and developing their Audit and Risk Management services. Marc will also be speaking at GRC 2013 in Amsterdam in June on the topics of auditing GRC systems, AB&C compliance, and SoD management. Welcome,...Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:51:00 GMTSocial Analytics for Your Enterprise with Google+ and Ripples - Guest Expert Posthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/Social-Analytics-for-Your-Enterprise-with-Google-and-Ripples-Guest-Expert-Post
I have Google's Blogger app on my iPhone and iPad mini. I can write articles for publication from anywhere with an Internet connection, but are they read, are they shared? That is our subject for today. One of the biggest growth areas involving mobility is mobile marketing. If your company's target customers are researching products, comparing products and buying products on mobile devices then the following information about Google+ and Ripples may be of interest to you as it is to me. I have invited social media expert Allison Rice to share her expertise in this area with us. Question: How do you know the number of people paying attention to your company's messages or articles on social media? If you use Facebook, as more than 700 million active users do (most on mobile devices), then you click on your business page's Insights tab and read through about four pages of fairly detailed graphs and statistics. If you're on Pinterest, you've probably already checked out their new analy...Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:32:41 GMTNFL GM's: "Get Me That SAP HANA!"http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/NFL-GMs-Get-Me-That-SAP-HANA
by Ken Murphy @KMurphyWisPubs SAP HANA and Eric Reid will forever be linked. As noted by SAP Experts Managing Editor Scott Priest in his &ldquo; Today in SAP &rdquo; blog, all eyes were on the San Francisco 49ers during the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. Having used the SAP Scouting mobile app powered by SAP HANA heavily in its draft preparation, the defending NFC Champion Niners were champing at the bit to take a player off the draft board, trading up 13 spots to take Reid, a safety out of LSU, with the 18 th pick in the first round. San Francisco swapped first-round picks with the Dallas Cowboys, giving Dallas its 31 st pick and its third-round pick (No. 74 overall) for the rights to Reid. If Reid pans out as an elite NFL safety, the fact that San Francisco moved up in the draft to take him is a dream come true for SAP, especially because some so-called draft &ldquo;experts&rdquo; had Reid pegged to go anywhere from the middle of the first round to perhaps even t...Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:40:25 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal - Inbound Accounts Payable Mandates in 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-Inbound-Accounts-Payable-Mandates-in-2013
There have been a number of requests coming in to cover the basics for Brazil Nota Fiscal Inbound. Remember, that the validation of all inbound supplier Nota Fiscals is mandatory. Many companies are still accomplishing this manually. One company had over 15 individuals manually entering supplier invoices into the government portal. Another company had over 20. It is important to remember that you can automate and should automate this process. Below I discuss how you should focus on the Inbound process and the 3 types of invoices you will have to deal with: NF-e Goods, NF-e Service, and CTe &ndash; Transportation Invoices. First it is important to distinguish what you have to do versus what you should be doing with the inbound XML in Brazil. What you have to do I call &ndash; &ldquo;Okay to Deduct&rdquo; this consists of the required government validation of the XML and in Brazil, the subsequent posting of those codes to the SPED reports. It is also important to remember that the ma...Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:16:06 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal - In House or Managed Servicehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-In-House-or-Managed-Service
There is a definite trend for companies using SAP to move away from managing in house software solutions because of the maintenance difficulties imposed by the changing legislation in Brazil. Many companies looked at Brazil Nota Fiscal over the past few years as just another invoice process and compliance solution that could be managed by internal staff. However, as more organization move business processes into shared services and look to consolidate on single instances or regional instances of SAP, they are finding that the true cost of ownership is extremely high. Below are the two most common themes I see when speaking with customers looking to move away from an on premise Nota Fiscal solution: Organizations have grown through acquisitions in Latin America, especially in Brazil over the past 5 years. Many of these companies that were acquired also ran SAP, but companies found themselves supporting multiple instances. As the IT team took on consolidation, they often realized tha...Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:48:05 GMTCrowdsourcing, Collaboration and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/Crowdsourcing-Collaboration-and-Enterprise-Mobility
I spent time with a company recently that identified one of their strategic initiatives for 2013 as being crowdsourcing. Are you familiar with the term? Here is Wikipedia's definition, "Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people." This company, we'll call ACME Inc., is purposely asking their employees to contribute ideas which are then reviewed, voted on, and the winners identified and rewarded. I love it! Now to be sure this is all very new to ACME Inc., but I applaud their thinking! If employees know their ideas can make a difference and be recognized, and that actual thinking will be rewarded, then the sky is the limit on innovative thinking within a company! All too often employees think only certain bestowed titles and roles in the company are paid to think, while the rest of the brain power in the company is put on sleep mode. I am here to tell you - in the coming months, quarters and...Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:07:52 GMTNexus of Forces Cinches Manhunt Nethttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/Nexus-of-Forces-Cinches-Manhunt-Net
By Ken Murphy @KMurphyWisPubs In hindsight, it&rsquo;s hard to fathom how the suspected Boston Marathon bombers had any realistic expectations that they&rsquo;d remain unidentified, let alone at large. This point was driven home Friday night with suspect No. 2&rsquo;s capture in a boat in a backyard in Watertown, Mass. Clearly, this wasn&rsquo;t someone with an exit strategy complete with safe houses, false identities, and forged documents. That came as welcome news to an unnerved community, but of course offers little solace or comfort to the many victims of this senseless tragedy, which so deeply affected the people in Boston and the surrounding communities because the marathon really is a part of who we are. I&rsquo;ve run the race. My family and I go every year. We were at my sister-in-law&rsquo;s house at Mile 21 last week, and like everyone else we were stunned when emergency vehicles suddenly sped down Comm. Ave. toward the finish line, sirens blaring. &ldquo;Boston Strong&r...Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:33:34 GMTGoogle, Social and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/Google-Social-and-Enterprise-Mobility
I would invite anyone in an IT department buried in demand for mobile apps to first take a look at Google Enterprise www.google.com/enterprise/ , before trying to develop everything yourself. There are many mobile capabilities already available in the Google world which are free to individuals and available free or on a subscription basis for companies. Here are a few of them: Google Drive - Keep all your files, documents, spreadsheets, videos, photos, everything digital in a free secure cloud. Access from any mobile or desktop device. youtu.be/wKJ9KzGQq0w Google+ - Strives to make sharing online, like sharing in person. We at Cognizant have been using Google+ for many of our strategy groups and discussions. I love it. I use it for both work and personal. I have specific "Circles" and "Communities" for work and personal. Google Hangouts - This is a very powerful solution that let's you video chat with your team no matter where in the world they are located. Share documents, videos,...Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:48:54 GMTRecent Interview on SAP Enterprise Warehouse Management with Rocket Consultinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/April/Recent-Interview-On-SAP-Enterprise-Warehouse-Management-With-Rocket-Consulting
Short podcast covering SAP EWM with Rocket Consulting CEO, Lewis Marston.Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:37:52 GMTSAP Mexico eInvoicing - AP and VAT Remittance Issues Ahead as CFDI Usage Becomes Mandatoryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/April/SAP-Mexico-eInvoicing-AP-and-VAT-Remittance-Issues-Ahead-as-CFDI-Usage-Becomes-Mandatory
In my last post, we discussed the key issues facing SAP accounts as the Mexico government continues to implement and push the usage of CFDI. I wanted to expand upon the potential issues facing Procurement and Accounts Payable users and managers as I feel it is an underestimated issue. As discussed, 90% of invoices in Mexico today fall under the legacy regime of CFD which has a completely different XML schema and business process. And today, many companies will use manual data entry to comply with the inbound validations which are mandatory. Remember, the government announced on Dec 28, 2012 that the validated XML structure of the CFDI must be archived for a period of at least 5 years. And this XML will be used as the single version of the truth for auditors when reviewing VAT tax discrepancies. So here lies the problem -- an organization could see the inbound CFDI volume double if not triple. There is no way that manual processes will be able to keep up with the increased load so a...Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:48:19 GMTThe Globe and Mail Uses SAP HANA in the Cloud to Grow Its Digital Audiencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2013/April/The-Globe-And-Mail-Uses-SAP-HANA-In-The-Cloud-To-Grow-Its-Digital-Audience
After implementing SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse to create one version of the truth for its enormous customer database, The Globe and Mail experienced dramatic marketing benefits. So to increase its digital presence and online audience, the company naturally turned again to SAP — this time, to SAP HANA ONE, SAP’s cloud offering for customers who want to run SAP HANA.Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMTARI Fleet Management Drives Real-Time Analytics to Customershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2013/April/ARI-Fleet-Management-Drives-Real-Time-Analytics-To-Customers
Fleet management company ARI manages the entire life cycle and operation of a fleet vehicle for its customers, from up-front specifications and acquisition through resale, which generates a tremendous amount of transactional data. To help ARI manipulate data to spot trends and develop proactive solutions to challenges the data might reveal, the company implemented SAP BusinessObjects Explorer with SAP HANA.Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMTHow Grupo Modelo Brews Up Process Change and Manages Riskhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2013/April/How-Grupo-Modelo-Brews-Up-Process-Change-And-Manages-Risk
When Grupo Modelo took the step to become a more process-oriented organization, a key objective was to make sure the business processes and rules were consistent company-wide. Standardizing organizational processes would give the brewer more insight into operations, but would also create challenges specifically related to risk management.Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMTSAP BW to HANA Migration ABAP Diagnostic Toolhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/SAP-BW-to-HANA-Migration-ABAP-Diagnostic-Tool
Many experienced developers are not aware that moving BW to HANA can in some cases result in slower transformations during data loads. Thankfully, SAP is providing a tool to identify areas in your ABAP code that may benefit from an optimization. In this blog we take a quick look at this valuable tool. By Dr. Berg Background During development of SAP BW Extract Transforms and data Load (ETL) there are many options to create transformations in DTPs in BW 7.x and in older Update and Transfer rules in BW 3.x. Unfortunately, depending on your developers, some of the custom transforms may have sub-optimal ABAP coding can have impacts on how SAP BW ETL performs after the migration to HANA. Thankfully, SAP&rsquo;s talented developer Marc Bernard provides an automated tool to help you identify potential coding issues. This program is called the &ldquo;SAP NetWeaver BW ABAP Routine Analyzer&rdquo;, or technically ZBW_ABAP_ANALYZER. Figure 1: Input Screen for SAP NetWeaver BW ABAP Routine Ana...Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:34:28 GMTBill Clark's Top 10 Enterprise Mobility Trends for 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/Bill-Clarks-Top-10-Enterprise-Mobility-Trends-for-2013
This is a great video from SAP highlighting the Top 10 Biggest Enterprise Mobility Trends for 2013 . I love this short video format. It covers all ten trends in 1 minute 31 seconds. I agree with the top 10 as well. Watch Video Here ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Read the whitepaper on mobile, social, analytics and cloud strategies Don't Get SMACked Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC an alyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:57:00 GMTHow Do You Make Money in Enterprise Mobility? A Predictionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/How-Do-You-Make-Money-in-Enterprise-Mobility-A-Prediction
For the past six months I have been pondering how does a MADP (mobile application development platform) company make money in enterprise mobility? I talk to literally thousands of people a year who are involved in enterprise mobility, and it seems many in the enterprise mobility vendor world continue to struggle to make sustainable profits. I spent many years as the CEO of a mobile platform and mobile app development company. I can tell you from personal experience that it is incredibly hard to maintain an R&D funding pace that keeps up with, let alone surpasses, the pace of innovation in the market. It seems like every time you identify a new set of features for a new version of your mobile platform, it is already obsolete and you are playing catch up. Most traditional mobile platform companies I think are struggling with the challenge of keeping up with the rapidly evolving mobility market. They have a business model based on the assumption they can achieve economies of scale by...Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:55:49 GMTSwarming, Mobility, Speed and Digital Disruptionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/Swarming-Mobility-Speed-and-Digital-Disruptions
Social media, mobile communications, analytics, cloud services (SMAC) and other digital disruptors are introducing crazy new dynamics into our industries, markets, businesses, management disciplines, politics and even our culture today. I believe we have only just begun to recognize some of the impacts of these disruptions. We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate and YouTube to tell the world. ~ Egyptian Activist One of the impacts of digital disruptors is the increasing emergence of swarming or swarm intelligence. Here is a definition, &ldquo;Swarming involves the use of decentralized forces against something, in a manner that emphasizes mobility, communication, autonomy and coordination or synchronization.&rdquo; ~ Wikipedia Swarming, although perhaps unrecognized, is precisely what the Egyptian Activist was referring to in the above quote. The ability for autonomous or semi-autonomous groups to work closely together because of mobile communications, socia...Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:05:26 GMTThe latest on HR forms for SAP: Q&A with Brandon Toombs & Justin Morgalis, authors of SAP ERP HCM Processes & Forms (transcript)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/March/The-latest-on-HR-forms-for-SAP-QA-with-Brandon-Toombs-Justin-Morgalis-authors-of-SAP-ERP-HCM-Proces
SAP HCM forms creation has changed dramatically with the release of SAP ERP 6.0 EHP6, HR Renewal 1.0, and the new Floor Plan Manager (FPM). How can you prepare for the latest options for forms development and workflow with HCM Processes and Forms? Brandon Toombs and Justin Morgalis, authors of the SAP PRESS book SAP ERP HCM Processes and Forms answered questions posted by our members on March 20 in the HR Forum discussion thread. M.S. Hein, editor of SAPexperts&rsquo; HR Hub, moderated the discussion. Review the full thread in the HR Forum, or read our edited transcript here: M.S. Hein: Welcome to today&rsquo;s HR Forum on HCM Processes & Forms. I&rsquo;m pleased to be joined today by Justin Morgalis and Brandon Toombs, authors of the SAP PRESS book SAP ERP HCM Processes and Forms &ndash; and Brandon is also recently b ack from our HR 2013 event in Las Vegas. Today, they will review the discussion thread for the next hour and posting answers to your P&F questions. They will post th...Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:44:00 GMTDigital Disruption and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/Digital-Disruption-and-Enterprise-Mobility
This week in the March 18, 2013, edition of The Wall Street Journal was an article titled Built Not to Las t by Alan Murray. This article reviewed the book Digital Disruption by Forrester executive James McQuivey. I loved the article and have now downloaded the book to read in its entirety. I guess it is true that people like to hear what they already believe. McQuivey identifies many of the trends I am also seeing in the market today. In his book McQuivey argues that technology has made it possible to launch companies without large amounts of capital, proprietary labor pools or vast swaths of intellectual property. Increasingly, anyone with a powerful idea can assemble the tools to make his idea a reality. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from Murray's article: "The only defense to this massive attack [from digital disruption competitors], Mr. McQuivey says, is to mimic the enemy. The consequences for existing companies, if you believe Mr. McQuivey, are extreme. "Digital tool...Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:16:39 GMTGIS Data and Modern Mobility Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/GIS-Data-and-Modern-Mobility-Solutions
I found this quote in an article titled " ESRI Takes Its Deep Mapping Software Online To Help Developers Become More Like Geographers " over the weekend, "The future is that developers will become more and more like geographers and cartographers as they increasingly work with real-world data.&rdquo; ~Amber Case, ESRI. I found that quote to be particularly enlightening as the more developers work with The Internet of Things, the more they must know about the physical world. This has not always been the trend. For years developers seemed to be developing a different world, a virtual world far removed from dirty dishes, oil changes, child care and landscaping. However, today, our virtual and physical worlds are quickly merging and developers are back into getting their hands dirty. The rapid expansion of The Internet of Things or M2M (machine-to-machine) solutions mean many different kinds of sensors are being attached and embedded in equipment all around us. This effort collects data...Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:20:02 GMTGoogle X, Hyper Spectral Remote Sensing - It's All About Sensors, Mobile Technologies and Big Datahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/Google-X-Hyper-Spectral-Remote-Sensing-Its-All-About-Sensors-Mobile-Technologies-and-Big-Data
Did you sign up to beta test Google Glasses? Have you ridden in Google's driverless cars? Your answer to both questions is likely not yet, but these are two very interesting innovations coming out of Google X (Google X is a secret facility run by Google thought to be located somewhere in the Bay Area of Northern California) that have been widely covered by the media. These two innovations demonstrate the combination of mobile communications, the Internet, mobile software apps, all kinds of sensors, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and real time analytics. I think the coolest components of these innovations are rarely highlighted - the integrated sensors that make them possible. Sensors measure and collect data and can be connected to just about any piece of equipment. Satellite cameras are sensors. There are audio and visual sensors. There are pressure and heat sensors. There are all kinds of sensors. One of the most interesting sensor technologies I have been researching...Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:51:44 GMTSocial Media Lessons from SAPinsider's CRM2013 Eventhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/Social-Media-Lessons-from-SAPinsiders-CRM2013-Event
By Ken Murphy @KMurphyWisPubs By welcome coincidence, I had the chance last week to speak with SAP Outbound Product Manager Terence Chesire about SAP&rsquo;s new social media product, SAP Social OnDemand &ndash; part of SAP Customer OnDemand &ndash; at our SAPinsider CRM2013 conference the day after a high-end retailer&rsquo;s private party celebrating a new Boston location turned into a publicity nightmare. I was in Las Vegas for the SAPinsider event when I heard about the upscale home furnishing gallery&rsquo;s blighted bash through &ndash; what else &ndash; social media. A tweet filled me in on the embarrassing details : Restoration Hardware was throwing a VIP, invitation-only grand opening party at its new Back Bay location, but the fire department shut it down early because of overcrowding. According to numerous reports, guests were squeezed in like sardines, unable to move let alone freely access the lobster rolls or top-shelf liquor. The band was ordered to stop. After filin...Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:25:26 GMTSAP Oil & Gas - Brazil mandates new eInvoicing process for 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/SAP-Oil-Gas-Brazil-mandates-new-eInvoicing-process-for-2013
In previous articles, we discussed the concept of Eventos that the Brazil tax authority was evaluating. And as always, the first wave of inbound receiving mandates are already hitting specific industries. Currently, the concept of Eventos is mandated to be implemented for Oil and Gas companies. The mandates fall into two basic industry categories: Production Environment must be live: For Fuel Distribution Companies : March 1st, 2013 Gas Stations and Resale companies: July 1st, 2013 The reason the government is changing and forcing this new process: The Brazilian SEFAZ wants to create controls preventing transportation fraud as well as NF-e cancellations after the delivery of goods. Unscrupulous suppliers were creating &ldquo;ghost&rdquo; transactions at end of month using the tax id of existing customers without their awareness. Transactions were then canceled later without consequence to the sending party. This process was and is being utilized to ship product illegally. What do O...Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:46:15 GMTPodcast: Tips from John Krakowski on how to get the most out of SAP Solution Managerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/March/Podcast-Tips-from-John-Krakowski-on-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-SAP-Solution-Manager
John Krakowski, Senior Product Manager for SAP Solution Manager at SAP shares his thoughts about what is new in SAP Solution manager, including &lsquo;SAP&rsquo;s run like a factory&rsquo; approach, as well as his advice for where to find the most up-to-date information on Solution Manager capabilities and new tools available. Listed to the full podcast here: admin2013.wispubs.com/US/Sessions/4677/?... And attend Admin 2013 , March 19-22 in Las Vegas to hear Mr. Krakowski speak on the following topics: Maintain business process stability and detect process exceptions early using SAP Solution Manager How to provide reliable support for your critical business processes with SAP Solution Manager 7.1 Transform your SAP Solution Manager 7.1 implementation with SAP Enterprise Support Strategies for ongoing monitoring and maintenance of SAP systems and business processes using new application operations functionality What's new in change control management with SAP Solution Manager 7.1 Th...Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:21:05 GMTTips from John Krakowski to get the most out of SAP Solution Managerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/March/Tips-From-John-Krakowski-To-Get-The-Most-Out-Of-SAP-Solution-Manager
John Krakowski, Senior Product Manager for SAP Solution Manager at SAP shares his advice for where to find the most up-to-date information on Solution Manager capabilities and new tools available.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:10:00 GMTKevin Benedict's Mobile World Congress 2013 Interviews: SAP's Benjamin Wessonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Kevin-Benedicts-Mobile-World-Congress-2013-Interviews-SAPs-Benjamin-Wesson
M2M, the Internet of Things, mobile security and enterprise mobility are all discussed in this interview. SAP is located in at least three different areas at the Mobile World Congress where they are discussing M2M and demonstrating solutions. The discussion around mobile connectivity, has now jumped from humans to humans and machines. This jump is pouring massive amounts of data into the enterprise today. The big questions are how to manage the data to help the business. Grab the popcorn! Video Link: youtu.be/PhZsN4cONoY ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Read the insightful whitepaper on mobile, social, analytics and cloud strategies Don't Get SMACked Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my persona...Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:56:44 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal (SAP NFe) - Production Support Is Where Costs of In-house Solutions can Sky Rockethttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-SAP-NFe-Production-Support-Is-Where-Costs-of-In-house-Solutions-can-Sky-Rock
Over the last year, many companies have been re-evaluating their strategy for managing Brazil Nota Fiscal and Latin America eInvoicing in general. These changes are due to Production Support issues and costs of in-house solutions. Many companies don't fully understand the issues with purely in-house software, so in this blog we are covering some of the most common issues and negative business affects. If you are running an in-house solution make sure you understand the true cost of operating that solution. Common support issues: Inability to print the DANFe because there is no monitoring of the printers at offsite locations. This causes delays in shipping and potential lost revenue from customers Too many monitors cause issues in resolving the problems as they arise. This is a huge issue for solutions that have too many software components. For example, many companies are running a process that has SAP NFe extensions to the ERP system Monitor for EAI - SAP PI to connect the ERP to...Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:28:29 GMTHaving Fun and Learning at HR2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Having-Fun-and-Learning-at-HR2013
It's Wednesday, February 27th and another beautiful morning here at the Bellagio. Yesterday was an extremely productive one. I think back to the beginning of the general session yesterday morning and what was said, it really is true-as you look at the conference goers, it's a group of people that really want to be here. Lots of smiles and handshakes. After the general session, I listened to Doug Whittle talk about muti-generational workforces. It was a fascinating discussion, not just about the differences in generations (Generation X here), but also about differences in values-found out I'm also purple. Bottom line is that diversity matters, and diversity in the workforce can help you to be productive, especially when you understand the prism you are seeing things through. After lunch, I sat in on a session with Kellie Fitzpatrick, of Symphony, who talked about OM processes. I am happy to report that my company is on the right track, but we have some clean up to do, and the transa...Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:16:43 GMTMobility and Collaboration Platforms, Part 2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Mobility-and-Collaboration-Platforms-Part-2
OK, I am almost ready to get off of my soap box about how enterprise mobility and collaboration platforms, working together as part of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud), are creating a huge sea change in how businesses are run. In this short video I share some additional areas that will be impacted by these changes. Enjoy! Click Here to watch video ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:47:15 GMTLooking Forward to HR2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Looking-Forward-to-HR2013
I&rsquo;m looking forward to HR2013 for many reasons &ndash; some old and some new. I have participated in the SAPInsider conferences since 2007 when I was asked to fill in for a last minute cancelation. HR2007 was my first large conference speaking engagement, and I remember being impressed at how organized every detail of the conference was. My point of contact then was AJ Whalen, and he was a pleasure to work with. Now that I am privileged to work with Amy Thistle and the rest of her team, the focus on quality and efficiency continues. Since that first conference in 2007, I&rsquo;ve attended and presented at many other conferences but SAPinsider is consistent in their attention to detail and the level of professionalism and friendliness of everyone on the conference team is unmatched. I mentioned AJ in my previous paragraph and the opportunity to catch up with AJ and other friends, colleagues, and customers is another reason I look forward to HR2013. One of my best friends from...Thu, 21 Feb 2013 03:01:41 GMTSAP Brazil Localization & Implementation During a Global Rollout of SAP ERPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/SAP-Brazil-Localization-Implementation-During-a-Global-Rollout-of-SAP-ERP
Over the past two weeks, I am seeing more and more planned implementations of SAP in Brazil. Many companies are either looking to consolidate legacy systems onto a centralized SAP system, or they are looking to transition Procure To Pay processes into a Shared Service environment. Regardless, I wanted to provide the key considerations for SAP Brazil implementations. Many of these are often overlooked during the discussion of bringing Brazil into the SAP or Shared Service process. There are 3 primary evaluations you have to consider: Localizations - this is actually the most underestimated part of the project, and this is critical to the success of the next two topics. Your organization needs to ensure you have local Brazil/SAP experts. This project is much more than installing a few J tables. Ensure you have solid and current tax advice from your tax advisor and you have individuals that have implemented SAP in Brazil before. I have seen companies underestimate the implementation b...Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:53:10 GMTMobile Banking and INGhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Mobile-Banking-and-ING
Over the past few months I have been sharing my research on mobile banking here on this blog. Last week I wrote an article titled, Mobile Banking and Change is Coming about the transformation happening in the banking industry - first propelled by the internet and now by mobile apps. In 1994, Bill Gates said, " We need banking, but we don't need banks ." The truth in this statement, given 19 years ago, is being proven in 2013. There was an article in yesterday's edition of the The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) titled, Web Turn Leads to ING Cuts . Here is an excerpt, "Dutch bank ING Groep NV plans to cut another 2,400 jobs (for a total of 5,100 jobs cut by 2015) at its retail banking operations, its biggest source of revenue, as its customers do more business online. By online they mean in large part - mobile. Why these additional cuts? Here is what ING said, "Retail customers in the Netherlands have embraced new technologies for their banking needs at a faster rate than expected, reduci...Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:07:48 GMTTerra Cotta Army, Mobility and Social Engagement Platformshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Terra-Cotta-Army-Mobility-and-Social-Engagement-Platforms
This week I had the pleasure of teaching a SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) strategies workshop in Brussels for a very large insurance and banking company. Following the workshop, my colleague in the mobility practice, Hugo Taborda, took me to see a visiting display of the Terra Cotta Army from China. For those not familiar with the Terra Cotta Army, it is a collection of over 7,000 terra cotta statutes found by a Chinese farmer in 1974. Seven thousand soldiers and horses in long lines, standing silently, ready to escort their king into the afterlife. Yesterday on my return flight to Boise, Idaho I had ample time to meditate on terra cotta statues. They were buried around 210 BC. They have stood silent, ready for duty, for over 2,000 years. Whether their king journeyed into an afterlife or not, they remained buried in Lintong district, Xi'an, Shaanix province, China. They were immobile. They have withstood the ravages of time (most of them), but cannot share their experie...Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:06:59 GMTCustomizing technical monitoring functionality in SAP Solution Manager 7.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Customizing-technical-monitoring-functionality-in-SAP-Solution-Manager-7-dot-1
Here are a couple of tips taken from Jereme Swoboda&rsquo;s presentation for Admin and Infrastructure 2013 coming up March 19-22 in Las Vegas. Jereme, from NIMBL, is presenting two sessions &ndash; Customizing technical monitoring functionality in SAP Solution Manager 7.1 to meet your business needs and Technical tips for deploying a standardized configuration of SAP GUI . Both are chock full of useful take-home tips and best practices. Tip #1 -- How to Prevent Alert Flooding and False Alarms Assign each managed object a unique template Customize metric threshold settings Change threshold type or monitored value Increase threshold value Adjust data collection settings Increase the interval Restrict data collection to a specific time of day Deactivate email alerts that are performance or configuration Some metrics only need to be monitored By Default email alerts are active on all metrics Assign work modes to templates or specific alerts Allows for alerting during designated times o...Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:09:48 GMTPreparing for SAP CRM mobile sales: Q&A on mobile CRM with Sandeep Raina of Fujitsu America (transcript)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/February/Preparing-for-SAP-CRM-mobile-sales-QA-on-mobile-CRM-with-Sandeep-Raina-of-Fujitsu-America-transcript
How can your organization prepare to deliver SAP CRM to your mobile sales team? What changes should you expect to see in CRM mobile sales deployments in terms of implementation effort, data management and look & feel? I recently moderated a Q&A with CRM 2013 speaker and Fujitsu America consultant Sandeep Raina on configuring and customizing SAP CRM mobile sales. Sandeep took questions in an exclusive, one-hour Q&A in the CRM Forum moderated on February 5. He shared his advice on topics such as authorizations, integration with SAP CRM Sales Contacts, pricing conditions, SAP NetWeaver Mobile, SUP, performance, pipeline management and other topics. Follow the full discussion thread in the CRM Forum , or read our edited transcript here: Amy Thistle, CRM 2013: Welcome to today's forum on SAP CRM mobile sales. Thank you for joining us today! I&rsquo;d first like to welcome Sandeep Raina of Fujitsu America. Today&rsquo;s Q&A topic is based on Sandeep&rsquo;s upcoming CRM 2012 session &ldq...Sun, 10 Feb 2013 21:59:00 GMTSocial and Mobile Rocking Organizational Charts and Processeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Social-and-Mobile-Rocking-Organizational-Charts-and-Processes
Yesterday in my research on enterprise mobility and social businesses, I came across two statements that I want to share with you. They are from the book Social Business By Design . The impact of new social models and enabling tools, combined with the means to employ them effectively (think mobile), are remaking the landscape of business, society, culture and government. Social business is one of the biggest shifts in structure and process of organizations in business history. It taps into entirely new sources of creative output (everyone on the network...mostly mobile), relinquishes structure that reduces productive outputs, and inverts methods of traditional control and decision making in work processes (as anyone on the network can contribute). I don't think most businesses are yet aware of how transformational the SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) wave really is. In my SMAC strategy workshops I compare this wave to a tsunami. It does not care if social collaboration an...Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:00:55 GMTTips & advice on improving cash flow forecasting & liquidity planning: Q&A with SAP treasury expert Moussa Soukal (transcript)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2013/February/Tips-advice-on-improving-cash-flow-forecasting-liquidity-planning-QA-with-SAP-treasury-expert-Mous
Accurate cash flow forecasts &ndash; even two or three months out - are elusive for many companies. Challenges range from data inaccuracies, to technical issues and integration problems, to poorly devised processes. What are best practices to sidestep these issues, and how can SAP treasury functionality help you more accurately pinpoint your company&rsquo;s future cash position? In this Q&A moderated by A llison Martin of Financials 2013 with conference speaker and Treasury expert Moussa Soukal of Hanse Orga . On January 31, Moussa took questions here for the hour in the Financials Forum thread on topics he'll be discussing at his Financials 2013 session , such as: - What are best practices for implementing a standardized format for tracking changes to cash flow forecasts? - How can we avoid errors due to country-specific data formats and multilingual systems? - What are best practices for avoiding integration issues with subsidiaries using different ERP systems? - What...Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:32:00 GMTMexico Inbound eInvoicing Requirements 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/February/Mexico-Inbound-eInvoicing-Requirements-2013
Even with the newly announced December 28th mandates by the Mexico SAT, there is still quite a bit of confusion in the marketplace. If you run a Shared Services environment or if you are in charge tax compliance or account payables, here are four issues you or your service provider should be able to answer. How will you deal with the inbound XML validations? You must understand how you will validate these invoices as you have to archive them, and you are not going to archive invalid invoices for tax purposes. If you are caught in non-compliance it is a criminal penalty. How will you manage the difference between suppliers that send CFD versus CFDI invoices? Are you sure you can validate both types? Are you meeting the legislative mandates for archiving? Paper no longer matters, so be sure you understand how you will deal with these issues going forward. How are you using the XML to make your AP department more efficient. Because the XML must be sent by your suppliers and because it...Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:26:13 GMTMobile Devices, Management Structures and SMAC, Part 4http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/Mobile-Devices-Management-Structures-and-SMAC-Part-4
Today Blackberry announced their new Blackberry 10 platform. It sounds very interesting as it integrates social networking, enterprise security, dual personas, and more. Here is an excerpt from an article written by Steve Costello, "At the heart of the new OS is the BlackBerry Hub, an integrated contacts and social networking app with support for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Messages and updates can be read and posted without the need to leave BlackBerry Hub, and contact information can be viewed regardless of the app in which it is stored." In a series of articles that I have written this week titled Mobile Devices, Management Structures and SMAC , I have shared my views that the SMAC stack (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) is a combination of technologies that as a combined foursome are transforming the world of business today. You can download and read a great whitepaper on this subject here . This announcement by Blackberry further solidifies my views. Mobile and social...Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:03:55 GMTFiscal Year Calendar Changehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/Fiscal-Year-Calendar-Change
My company is going from Month Calendar to 4-4-5 Calendar reporting, do anyone out there did this type of conversion? Can anyone want to share lessons learned? Thanks, IdaliaWed, 30 Jan 2013 12:50:03 GMTMobile Devices, Management Structures and SMAC, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/Mobile-Devices-Management-Structures-and-SMAC-Part-1
One of the best whitepapers I have read in a long time is, Don't Get SMACked - How Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud are Reshaping the Enterprise . What I particularly like about this paper is its courage in predicting the future and exposing trends that most people may not yet be tracking. I am a mobile guy, and mobility is deeply integrated into all aspects of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud). Without mobility, many of the trends identified in this paper simply would not be happening. Here is an excerpt, "The vast majority of Global 2000 companies currently manage through a command-and-control hierarchy. However, millenials prefer to work in heterarchies instead of hierarchies. What is a heterarch or "wirearchy" as it is also called? It is a dynamic network of connected nodes (most often connected via mobile devices) without predefined priorities or ranks." ~ Don't Get SMACked , Future of Work, Cognizant, November 2012 If you work in a big company and are in a hurry t...Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:19:16 GMTSAP NetWeaver DBA Cockpit for HANA - an Introductionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/SAP-NetWeaver-DBA-Cockpit-for-HANA-an-Introduction
Many do not know that there is a SAP NetWeaver DBA Cockpit for HANA that is integrated and which provides performance and system information in the BW interface. In this blog we take a quick look at some of the basic capabilities. By Dr. Berg Introduction Inside SAP&rsquo;s data warehouse solution Business Warehouse (BW), you find the Database Administration Cockpit. This is used to manage and monitoring the underlying relational or HANA based database and is available for organizations with NW 7.3 SP5 and higher. The cockpit is available under the transaction code DBACOCKPIT, but requires that the security authorizations S_TCODE and S_RZL_ADM are assigned to your role. In the DBA interface you can pass basic transaction calls to the HANA system and get an overview of how it is performing without going to the HANA Studio interface. Some of the transactions supported include: Figure 1: Transactions supported in BW DBA Cockpit for HANA Figure 2: HANA features in the DBA Cockpit in SA...Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:04:00 GMTSoti, Enterprise Mobility and the Changing World of MDMhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/Soti-Enterprise-Mobility-and-the-Changing-World-of-MDM
I had the opportunity to be briefed by the MDM (mobile device management) vendor Soti a couple of weeks ago. The briefing gave me a glimpse into the changes happening in this space. In days gone by when the mobility projects I was involved in were all about rugged handhelds and bar code scanners, MDM vendors like Soti were critical, not so much for mobile security, but for their ability to help debug mobile device problems in the field. In 2006 nearly all enterprise mobility apps were custom. Every app deployment was complex and time consuming. MDM vendors like Soti provided the remote access and monitoring of mobile devices that app developers needed to understand bugs. Mobile devices had so little memory that running out of memory was a common problem. In order to solve this problem, either the user would need to bring in the device, or software from companies like Soti would allow you to remotely access, control and debug the device. This enabled the helpdesk to discover and res...Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:30:05 GMTSAP eInvoicing Mexico CFDI - December 28 Resolution Mandates XML Archivehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/SAP-eInvoicing-Mexico-CFDI-December-28-Resolution-Mandates-XML-Archive
The one constant with Mexico's eInvoicing legislation is change. And more will be coming in 2013. But I think a lot of organizations may have missed the December 28, 2012 announcements by the SAT. They not only reinforce the archiving requirements; they also now specifically dictate that the XML must be digiatlly stored. Here is a short excerpt from the pages: &ldquo;For the purposes of articles 28 and 30 of the CFF, taxpayers who issue and receive CFDI , must store them on magnetic, optical or any other technology in their XML format&rdquo; Article 30 of the CFF among other things specifies that bookkeeping related documentation (including CFDI) must be store for a period of 5 years. This is just another change that shows an increased movement to CFDI by the government. In an earlier September release, the government released a free web portal application that allowed smaller organizations to create valid CFDI invoices. As with other countries, including Brazil, this is how the ma...Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:25:27 GMTAberdeen Group, SAP and Mobile, Social and Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/Aberdeen-Group-SAP-and-Mobile-Social-and-Cloud
" Over the previous 12-24 months the silos of social, mobile and cloud gradually began to overlap and converge with the use of cloud-enabled social technologies, or cloud-based mobility allowing enterprise workers to connect with one another across secure networks via their mobile devices. " ~ Service Organizations and SoMoClo report, Aberdeen Group Over the past 12 weeks I have met with nearly 20 large companies across Asia, North America and Europe on the subject of mobile strategies. In all cases social and analytics were also brought into the discussion. I agree with Aberdeen Group's findings and their belief that SoMoClo (social, mobile and cloud) are converging technologies. Here is another excerpt from Aberdeen Group's report, " the three disruptive technologies [social, mobile, cloud] act as a unified construct: cloud is the core, mobility its edge, and social the connection through the cloud between mobile endpoints. " Gartner expands this notion by adding a fourth element...Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:47:36 GMTMeasuring the Value of Social and Mobile Solutions in the Enterprisehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2013/January/Measuring-the-Value-of-Social-and-Mobile-Solutions-in-the-Enterprise
"The impact of new technologies is invariably misjudged because we measure the future with yardsticks from the past." Stephen Baker How does one measure the value of mobilizing and socializing an enterprise? In the book Social Business by Design: Transformative Social Media Strategies , written by Dion Hinchcliffe and Peter Kim, they report that in 2010, McKinsey and Company published survey results of companies engaged in social business activities that showed firms engaged systematically in social business processes had 24 percent higher revenue. Frost and Sullivan found similar results showing companies that deployed social tools saw improved performance in innovation (68 percent versus 39 percent that didn&rsquo;t deploy), sales growth (76 percent versus 50 percent that didn&rsquo;t deploy), and profit growth (71 percent versus 45 percent that didn&rsquo;t deploy). From those results it appears something good happens to companies when they embrace the social business concept. I...Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:05:59 GMTPodcast: SAP's Greg Chase Examines the Relationship Between IT and Business Innovationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/January/Podcast-SAPs-Greg-Chase-Examines-The-Relationship-Between-IT-And-Business-Innovation
In his latest SAPinsider article, How Platform-as-a-Service Turns Business Ideas into Business Innovation , author Greg Chase discusses how companies can leverage IT to drive innovation. In this exclusive podcast, SAP's Chase continues his examination of that trend, describing how a lack of governance between IT and business can hinder innovation, offering his opinion on the most innovative companies he sees in the market, and providing actionable advice on how to use IT to bring more innovation to your business.Wed, 09 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMTABAP in the Age of HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2013/January/ABAP-In-The-Age-Of-HANA
With so much talk about new technologies in the SAP ecosystem, we sometimes forget that you still have to speak ABAP to get into the back-end. In this podcast, we talk with independent analyst and SAP mentor Jon Reed as well as Rich Heilman, senior product manager at SAP Labs and author of Next Generation ABAP Development about the value of keeping ABAP skills updated in the age of HANA. For SAP developers, it's a must-listen.Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:42:00 GMTMy Top 10 Foolish SAP Predictions for 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/My-Top-10-Foolish-SAP-Predictions-for-2013
By Scott Wallask , Managing Editor, SAPexperts.com I&rsquo;m breaking out all the clich&eacute;s today: Looking into my crystal ball, scanning the horizon, and reading the tea leaves for what no doubt are awesome New Year&rsquo;s predictions. I am 100% confident the following 10 items will come true in 2013: 10. SAP will help the United States avert its fiscal cliff by installing HANA on the U.S. budget database, which will result in taxes being taken out of employee paychecks 10,000 times faster. 9. Larry Ellison at Oracle will go on the Twitter offensive and double his tweets per year to two. 8. SAP officials will adopt Bush-era policies and begin waterboarding critical bloggers in a basement in Palo Alto. 7. As a nod to its social media ambassador Timo Elliott, SAP will debut a new BW transaction code, TIMO, that lets a user immediately Tweet a chart. 6. Based on the retro rock acts that graced the concert stages at industry shows in 2012, Spinal Tap will sign on for Sapphire No...Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:49:14 GMTEnterprise Mobility, Legos and Mobile Trends in 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/Enterprise-Mobility-Legos-and-Mobile-Trends-in-2013
I have a world class collection of Legos. With the exception of a few pieces lost to predatory vacuum cleaners, I have preserved them in a large Rubbermaid container throughout the years as our children have grown. Legos are very simple. They are blocks of varying size that all fit together in a standardized manner. So as long as you don't mix non-standard pieces in with the standard, they all fit together with ease. As simple as these blocks are, however, masterpieces can be made with them. It is not the pieces that are interesting, it is the objects you can design with them. I view mobile solutions in much the same way. I believe 2013 will be the year of mobile strategy and design. The components necessary for implementing enterprise mobility solutions are all in place. Answering the questions of what to do with these components, optimizing ROIs and designing the best solutions that will offer the most competitive advantages should be the primary focuses. I have noted with intere...Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:24:34 GMTMassive Inevitable Changes For E-Tailer Shippinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/Massive-Inevitable-Changes-For-E-Tailer-Shipping
Thanks to Gray Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online retail (&ldquo;E-tail&rdquo;) sales have hit record highs in the US this holiday season. FedEx shipped a record 19 Million packages on December 10th of this year. UPS has predicted that they will ship over 527 million packages in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as compared to 480 million packages total shipped in 2011. The increase in shipping volume is shocking, and it&rsquo;s only going up. The impact? Both carriers and E-tailers are beginning to realize that, if they intend on maintaining the same levels of customer satisfaction and quality control as shipping volumes increase, the current partnership dynamic will be changing in a big way. The Impact on Shipping and Parcel Carriers Shipping and parcel carrier companies are beginning to require their E-tailing partners to become compliant with their specific electronic data exchange standards for shipping activity. Without it, carriers will eventually b...Fri, 21 Dec 2012 04:45:37 GMTMobile Strategies and Gartner's 2013 Top 10 Strategic Technology Trendshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/Mobile-Strategies-and-Gartners-2013-Top-10-Strategic-Technology-Trends
Have you seen Gartner's recently published 2013 top ten strategic technology trends? If not here they are: Mobile Devices Battles Mobile Applications and HTML5 Personal Cloud Internet of Things Hybrid IT and Cloud Computing Strategic Big Data Actionable Analytics Mainstream In-Memory Computing Integrated Ecosystems Enterprise App Stores I come from an enterprise mobility background and a focus on mobile strategies, so when I read this list I see mobility written in just about every one of these. Four of the top ten are all about enterprise mobility. Four through nine are related to managing a real-time enterprise, optimizing a mobile workforce, and understanding the value of data driven decision making. Again, all crucial elements to an effective enterprise mobility strategy. My views are closely aligned with what Gartner views as the top ten strategic technology trends for 2013, with the exception of social collaboration platforms. I view social collaboration platforms as deservin...Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:59:54 GMTSMAC Tsunamis and Mobile Strategieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/SMAC-Tsunamis-and-Mobile-Strategies
I was reminded these past few weeks of the many challenges organizations have keeping their business and IT strategies aligned with rapidly evolving technology innovations and changes in their marketplaces. Two weeks ago I attended a military related conference and listened as the different military branches shared their mobile strategies and the processes they must follow in order to bring new solutions online. Yikes! It is incredibly challenging as their administrative processes for acquiring new technologies typically take years, but mobile technologies are evolving much quicker than that. Even though the military processes are necessarily cumbersome for acquiring new technologies, testing them, and then going through formal RFPs and contract negotiations, their strategies for how to use mobile solutions are well defined. This is different from the commercial sector where it is often relatively easy to acquire new technologies, but there lacks a mobile strategy to support it. La...Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:04:59 GMTInformation Operations: The Fifth Dimension of Warfarehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/Information-Operations-The-Fifth-Dimension-of-Warfare
The US Military recognizes at least five dimensions of warfare for which it is responsible: Land Sea Air Space Information The fifth dimension, information, has direct relevance to enterprise mobility and mobile strategies. In the military conference I spoke at last week, the other speakers taught me the importance of dominating the fifth dimension. It is a compettive battlefield (market) and dominance is required. In an article I read this morning titled, Information Operations: The Fifth Dimension of Warfare , by General Ronald R. Fogleman, Air Force chief of staff, he relates the following, "[In the past] the Ninth Tactical Air Force required two to three days to combine information and combat firepower to do the job they had to do. Today we synchronize forces in hours if not minutes. With our information operations we dramatically reduce the time required to detect and to destroy a target." That is a fifth dimension competitive advantage. Here is another excerpt from the articl...Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:15:32 GMTWhat to Expect in SAP BI for 2013: Dr. Berg on HANA & BusinessObjects, and the BW 5-year outlookhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/December/What-To-Expert-In-SAP-BI-For-2013-Dr-Berg-On-HANA-BusinessObjects-And-The-BW-5-Year-Outlook
Dr. Bjarne Berg shares his thoughts on data processing, what HANA means for BusinessObjects customers, and his 5-year outlook for BW. Listen in as Berg also addresses how Oracle's Exalytics and HANA will compete in this space, and offers some holiday gift-giving and gadget advice to SAPexperts editor Scott Wallask. Listen here, or read the transcript at http://bit.ly/12hVHjSMon, 10 Dec 2012 23:12:00 GMTThe Role Big Data Plays with the Real-Time Enterprise, Mobile Strategies and Field Serviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/The-Role-Big-Data-Plays-with-the-Real-Time-Enterprise-Mobile-Strategies-and-Field-Services
I have been engaged in a lot of research and writing of late on business transformation made possible by the advent of the real-time enterprise, Big Data, mobile strategies and field services. I could have added social and cloud as well, but you have to stop somewhere. I find these subjects fascinating, because we can see their impact on both our personal lives and our businesses daily. On Tuesday, December 18th at 11 AM EST I will be sharing this research in a live webinar along with Mike Karlskind, VP of Service Optimization Strategies at ClickSoftware. I invite you to join us! Registration information can be found here - go.clicksoftware.com/role-big-data-plays... . The topics I will be covering are: Business transformation Real-time enterprises and Big Data Data driven decision making Location based services Predictive analytics Time-space compression Dromology (the science and logic of speed in field services) Chronostrategies - time strategies in field service Revolution in C...Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:54:22 GMTSmart Grids, ERP, Big Data and Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/December/Smart-Grids-ERP-Big-Data-and-Mobility
Every Tuesday I publish a newsletter entitled M2M News Weekly. I try to find all the interesting data that is reported on The Internet of Things and M2M (machine-to-machine) each week and then share it with a link to the original article. This week one of those items was Cognizant's Smart Meter Management Platform (SMMP). This platform enables utilities, using a smart grid, to turn on and off the utilities remotely for homes and businesses based on their status, plus a lot of other interesting things. I am the Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) for Cognizant, so this news was particularly interesting to me. There is a PDF available on this topic here. The SMMP solution utilizes an industry standard called MultiSpeak for integration between the smart grid, SMMP and a utility's ERP. Here is the clever part, the ERP is remotely turning on and off electricity based on information in the ERP. However, this is only the start. The vision for smart grids is much la...Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:17:57 GMTWhat to Expect in SAP HCM for 2013: SuccessFactors and Beyondhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/December/What-To-Expect-In-SAP-HCM-For-2013-SuccessFactors-And-Beyond
In this exclusive podcast, Kellie Fitzpatrick, CEO of Symphony Management Consulting, provides her insights on what SAP users can expect in the HCM space in 2013. Topics include: areas of functionality HCM users are considering putting in the cloud; target areas for SuccessFactors integration; and how cost issues will drive the move to the cloud in 2013.Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:51:00 GMTChat Mobility with Me (Kevin Benedict) on December 7thhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Chat-Mobility-with-Me-Kevin-Benedict-on-December-7th
I just read about a company that conducts weekly Twitter chats with their community and thought that was a great idea. Is anyone interested? It will be interesting to attempt to communicate about a complex topic such as enterprise mobility in 140 characters, but I am always up for a challenge! For those interested in chatting with me via Twitter, let's all gather on Twitter at the hashtag #kbmobile next Friday, December 7th at 9:30 AM EST and see how it goes :-) Cheers! ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:37:23 GMTConnecting the Strategic to the Tactical - Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Connecting-the-Strategic-to-the-Tactical-Enterprise-Mobility
There is a term, revolution in military affairs, that when searched on brings up many interesting articles that directly relate to enterprise mobility and business transformation. One article in particular found at www.defencejournal.com/2000/sept/militar... and written by Sharjeel Rizwan offers deep insights. Here is one of the article concepts as interpreted by me - mobile technologies permit a direct connection and data exchange between the strategic and the tactical levels of an organization. Many layers of management hierarchy, IT infrastructure and paper based reporting processes can be eliminated and huge savings and speed of data delivery can occur with mobile technologies. These capabilities permit changes in processes, organizations and strategies, which enables agility, speed, productivity increases and efficiency gains. Let me share a quote from Matt Green, VP of Product Management with Software AG, "Imagine a single activity stream that carries an alert every time a cu...Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:35:16 GMTIntro to HANA With Dr. Berg - Author of SAP Press' book on HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Intro-to-HANA-With-Dr-dot-Berg-Author-of-SAP-Press-book-on-HANA
An interview of the co-author of the new #1 best-selling HANA book from SAP Press on how HANA works, what it can do and how to implement with practical advice (9 minutes). Intro to HANA With Dr. BergFri, 30 Nov 2012 15:26:06 GMTSpeed, Mobility and Online Saleshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Speed-Mobility-and-Online-Sales
I read an article in the WSJ (Wall Street Journal) today titled, Big-Box Stores Wrestle E-Commerce Gorilla . Here is an interesting excerpt, "Amazon sells many of the same products as big-box stores but can undercut them on prices due to lower overhead. It also uses computer algorithms to adjust prices in real time . Traditional retailers often can't move as rapidly because online prices must match those in stores." I would like to also point out that an increasing amount of Amazon's sales are coming from mobile devices. That means Amazon stands to benefit from the show-rooming trend where customers search online for deals while in big-box stores. Note the mention of "real-time" and "rapidly" in the excerpt. Amazon is beating big-box retailers on speed, real-time analytics, business strategies and dynamic responses. Yesterday, I wrote an article titled, Time-Space Compression and Enterprise Mobility . In this article I discussed dromology, the science of speed, and chronostrategies...Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:56:06 GMTTime-Space Compression and Mobile Strategies - Video Commentshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Time-Space-Compression-and-Mobile-Strategies-Video-Comments
I have been doing a lot of research lately on technology trends and the impact of enterprise mobility on the way companies conduct business. I am particularly focused on business transformation and mobility. In the course of this research, I began studying time-space compression and how mobility relates to it. In this Video Comments I share my latest research and observations in this area. Click Here to watch video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:55:01 GMTDo Your Users Know What They Don't Know?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Do-Your-Users-Know-What-They-Dont-Know
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs "They didn't know what they didn't know." That was the way an IT contact I spoke with recently described the end users' enthusiastic reaction to its implementation of a new SAP application. Users were surprised by how much more they could do with the data they had available. It's not the first time I've heard that type of phrase to describe the reaction from business users -- pleasantly surprised about what they could do with their new application. But after giving it some thought, I realized that might not be the reaction you want from business users. Why? Because it indicates that that users aren't thinking about how they can leverage data -- regardless of technology -- to its fullest potential. It means that only when the IT organization (and perhaps a high-level business leader) forced a new application at their users did the users start to see the value of their data. If I were a CIO and I had just spent $x million to roll out a new application to...Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:32:00 GMTWhen to Be Cautious and When to Not - Time-Space Compressionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/When-to-Be-Cautious-and-When-to-Not-Time-Space-Compression
There is a time to recognize sea change and to take action. That time is now for developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy and to start implementing enterprise mobility. I think companies in the past couple of years have not been sure the role mobility would play in their specific company, markets and industries, however it should be clearer now. It is time to act and be bold. I propose that mobility is just the beginning. Mobility is part of a historic time-space compression shift that is impacting all people and industries. It is important for us to understand the impact this shift will have on each of our companies. Paul Virilio wrote a great deal about time and speed, and time-space compression. He calls the science of speed dromology, and strategies around time chronostrategy. He proposed that the speed at which something happens may change its essential nature. His argument is - that which moves with speed quickly comes to dominate that which is slower. The bottom line, i...Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:26:19 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Scott Musgrovehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Scott-Musgrove
While on the Mastering Enterprise Mobility with SAP speaking circuit last week in New Zealand and Australia, I met and got to know Scott Musgrove from the Water Corporation in New Zealand. Scott has a lot of hands on knowledge about enterprise mobility. He also has speaking stamina. Several times he had to teach his two sessions back-to-back. For all the public speakers out there, that is exhausting work. In this segment of Mobile Expert Videos, Scott shares his insights into enterprise mobility trends and how he sees social and mobile working together. Click Here to watch video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I...Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:13:22 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Oliver Betzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Oliver-Betz
In this segment, I have the privilege to interview SAP's Oliver Betz, Head of Custom Mobile Development at SAP, in Melbourne, Australia. We discuss HTML5, app development and how to achieve competitive advantages. Video Link: youtu.be/BjqS1woSML4 ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:59:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Tom Thimothttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Tom-Thimot
I met up with and interviewed SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) expert Tom Thimot from Cognizant last week in Melbourne, Australia. He spends his time studying the integration of SMAC and how it is impacting businesses. Click Here to watch video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:18:12 GMTNota Fiscal for Services -- AP Inbound Processing Issues and Types of Integrationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Nota-Fiscal-for-Services-AP-Inbound-Processing-Issues-and-Types-of-Integration
In this article, I focus more on the issues faced with Nota Fiscal for Services when looking at the compliance tasks from an Account Payables point of view. Remember that Service invoices are handled much differently than invoices for goods. Here is a quick overview for background: NF-e for Goods vs NFS-e for Services Goods Oriented NFE Taxes assigned at State level, so much higher adoption and standardization Digitally signed by emitter for non-repudiation and authentication to receiver Electronic file is the legal invoice &ndash; paper visualizations for human comfort only Invoices must be registered and approved before being sent Printed DANFE must accompany goods in transit for validation en route Inbound invoices must be validated and there are new "Eventos" processes taking place to eliminate ghost transactions. Archive for 5 years by sender Service Oriented NFS Tax is assessed by Cities, so Integration Points are at City Level Standardization came slowly but is advancing now...Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:30:00 GMT5 More Quick BW Performance Tuning Ideashttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/5-More-Quick-BW-Performance-Tuning-Ideas
Another installment in the serie of BW performance tuning ideas. While not comprehensive, it is intended to increase the knowlegde of BW developers with hints, suggestions, explanations and references to SAP Notes that allows developer to improved BW Performance. In this session we look at 5 different areas. By Dr. Berg NOTE: I strongly recommend the book "SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse: Administration and Monitoring " 2010 edition by Olaf Klostermann and Olaf Klostermann it is 590 pages of really useful info. Hardware settings If you want to see how your BW system is setup, goto SA38 and run the program RSPARAM report, it will show you all setting. Just place the cursor on a field in the report and press F1 and you get all details Buffering and slow log-file writes If you have a very long-time log-file-sync, you should buffer Dimensional IDs (DIMID), System IDs (SIDS) and hierarchy IDs (HIEID) to decrease the time the system spends committing individual records to the NRIV table...Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:39:38 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Simon Millerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Simon-Miller
Many people missed the announcement of SAP's acquisition of a company called Right Hemisphere last year. Right Hemisphere is now called SAP Visual Enterprise, and enables very large and complex CAD files to be animated and presented as much smaller files on mobile devices. The power here is that these files are mobile ready and can be used in a million different ways by service technicians and others needing to better understand how an object is designed, assembled or disassembled. In this interview Simon Miller with SAP walks us through SAP Visual Enterprise. Put on your thinking caps and figure out how this can best be used by your enterprise or clients' enterprise. Click Here to watch video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my per...Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:15:45 GMTSimplifying the SAP IT Change Management Audit: What to look for in an SAP change control automation technologyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Simplifying-the-SAP-IT-Change-Management-Audit-What-to-look-for-in-an-SAP-change-control-automation
This is the final in the series on simplifying an SAP IT change management audit through automation and this month, I will take a look at the feature set an IT team should consider in its quest to simplify its change control audit through automation. Why automation? If one can simplify the change management process and eliminate potential for workarounds then the audit process will be similarly simplified. Unfortunately, with increasing regulation combined with an increase in SAP environment complexity simple change management processes are rarely possible and without significant policing, process workarounds are a constant. Automation can simplify even complex processes, eliminate process workarounds and increase confidence that change management process has been followed for all changes. Basic feature set Eliminating workarounds and enforcing process are key requirements for change management automation and so the following feature set should be high on the selection criteria lis...Thu, 08 Nov 2012 06:03:04 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Manik Sahahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Manik-Saha
I had the honor of meeting with SAP's Head of Global IT Processes, Manik Saha. I spent time with him in both Aukland, New Zealand and in Brisbane, Australia over the past few days. In fact we will both be speaking in Sydney and in Melbourne this week before he returns to Singapore and I return to Boise, Idaho. Manik is speaking on the subject of SAP Runs SAP Mobility. In this interview he shares his thoughts on development trends and methodologies for mobile solutions. Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWGXaPK6A5o ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to cl aim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned i...Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:42:43 GMTDEMO: Loading Non-SAP Data to HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/November/DEMO-Loading-Non-SAP-Data-to-HANA
In this demo I show you step-by-step how to load non-SAP data from files into new SAP HANA tables using SAP DataServices as the ETL tool. We also look at how browse the HANA system tables, display data, the admin console, explore HANA views and the information modeler. By Dr. Berg (the co-author of the new SAP HANA book from SAP Press) DEMO Overview We start the demo with a quick tour or SAP HANA. Then we create 3 tables (customer, products and sales) and then load the tables using SAP DataServices. Please click on the demo and select HD resolution on the settings at the bottom. The demo also have audio .Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:12:14 GMTFinally a Modern HTML5 Answer for Windows Mobile Usershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Finally-a-Modern-HTML5-Answer-for-Windows-Mobile-Users
Things often move in slow motion in large companies. It takes months and sometimes years to get your IT project on a priority list that gets funded. You must seek and receive approvals from dozens of executives and managers who are often playing musical chairs on the organizational chart. But with months or years of persistence, you may finally gain all necessary approvals and a real budget. Now you must deliver on your projected ROIs over the next 36 months. That is often how big enterprise mobility projects work in the world of rugged and industrial grade mobile and handheld computers. This is a world foreign to many people familiar only with the consumer mobility space where new mobile apps are released daily, handsets and smartphones are released weekly and new versions of mobile operating systems are released quarterly. In this industrial world of concrete and rivets, dust and rain $2,000 rugged handhelds must last 4-6 years, not months. That means tens of thousands of compani...Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:50:18 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Dr. Ahmed El Adlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Dr-dot-Ahmed-El-Adl
I have interviewed Dr. Ahmed El Adl many times over the years, and he is always willing to share his experiences and knowledge with us. There are many new developments at SAP around the convergence of M2M, enterprise mobility, Hana, analytics, and much more that he shares in this video interview. Enjoy! Click Here to watch video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:14:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP and SMAC Compilationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAP-and-SMAC-Compilation
SMAC - social, mobile, analytics and cloud are the hottest topics in the SAP ecosystem right now. This segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series is a compilation of the latest opinions of SAP folks on this subject. Click Here to watch video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:13:29 GMTHana Proof of Concept? Considerations for quick wins in testing and evaluating HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Hana-Proof-of-Concept-Considerations-for-quick-wins-in-testing-and-evaluating-HANA
Companies using SAP are engaged in evaluation, of the new Hana in memory solution. As companies strive to justify and leverage these investments, executive management is looking for the following: /p p class="p1"Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:10:36 GMTDay 1 at Reporting & Analytics 2012: Don't-miss keynotes, case studies & lots of networkinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Day-1-at-Reporting-Analytics-2012-Dont-miss-keynotes-case-studies-lots-of-networking
Bridget Kotelly, Conference Producer, Reporting & Analytics 2012. I want to welcome everyone to Reporting & Analytics 2012! What a great turnout. Sanjay Poonen is kicking things off this morning with an enlightening keynote showing us some of the exciting things companies are doing with the latest and greatest analytic technologies, discussion of the intersection of mobile & analytics, and some great demos. The speed at which users can visualize data in virtually any way, shape or form imaginable is remarkable -- and promises to incite innovation and change across many industries. No doubt Steve Lucas &rsquo;s closing keynote this afternoon on &lsquo;How big data shapes technology strategies and drives business transformation&rsquo; will also pique the interest and imagination of everyone in attendance. I am looking forward to learning more real-world scenarios during the many case study sessions planned throughout the next few days &ndash; McKesson , Intel , Fairfax Water , Konica...Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:18:01 GMTHurricane Sandy and Jumpstart Dayhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Hurricane-Sandy-and-Jumpstart-Day
Jumpstart day in sunny Las Vegas is well underway and so far Hurricane Sandy is having little impact on all of the exciting things happening at this week's event. We kicked off the event today with two full day jumpstarts, one focusing on creating a super user program and the other a crash course on SAP for beginners, and a 3-hour hands-on lab on SAP Solution Manager. Based on attendance in those three sessions it seems as if we have a great mixture of SAP customers at this event. There is a great group of beginners who are learning all about SAP from the ground up as well as a sizeable group of people interested in super user programs and learning how to utilize SAP Solution Manager to manage their next project. We are keeping out eye on the hurricane going on back home on the east coast and hoping all of our friends and family are safe and sound. Here's hoping that flights return to normal on Wednesday so we are able to get home! That's all for now, from Las Vegas.Sun, 28 Oct 2012 22:06:24 GMTTips from Dr. Berg to improve dashboard performancehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Tips-from-Dr-dot-Berg-to-improve-dashboard-performance
How do you get to the root cause of dashboard performance problems? The once you diagnose them, how do you resolve them? This is the topic from Dr. Bjarne Berg&rsquo;s session entitled &ldquo;Preventing, Diagnosing, and Resolving the 20 Most Common Dashboard Performance Problems&rdquo; at the upcoming Xcelsius Dashboards Bootcamp. This excerpt highlights just one of the session&rsquo;s 20 dashboard performance monitoring considerations: Excel performance considerations &mdash; What to avoid: The logic you build into your Excel spreadsheet is also compiled into the Flash file when you export it Since some &ldquo;daisy-chain&rdquo; functions are very time consuming, you should be careful not to add too many conditions in the data Lookup functions and conditioning that should be avoided include: Lookups /i br / iThu, 25 Oct 2012 13:32:24 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Tony Kuehhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Tony-Kueh
Last week I led three sessions on mobile strategies at SAP TechEd in Las Vegas. While I was there, I had the good fortune of meeting up with and interviewing Tony Kueh, Head of Mobile Platform Solutions and Strategies at SAP. In this interview we discuss SAP's new "open" strategy toward mobile partners. Video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTsbOzyLz2A ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:38:16 GMTIT Budgets and Spotting the Hot Trendshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/IT-Budgets-and-Spotting-the-Hot-Trends
By Ken Murphy. With Friday&rsquo;s impending release of Windows 8, time will soon tell whether Microsoft hits a home run with its revamped operating system. Regardless of how Windows 8 is received, the timing of its release guarantees that it will factor prominently in what&rsquo;s expected to be one of the top IT trends of 2013: mobile device battles. Gartner released a list Tuesday of what its analysts expect to be the top 10 strategic technology trends of 2013 , and to no one&rsquo;s surprise the quest for mobile supremacy topped the list. Microsoft&rsquo;s new release, of course, features a hybrid touchscreen interface designed with a nod toward mobility&rsquo;s increasing influence. Most of the strategic trends, mobility&rsquo;s role in enterprise included, dovetail with SAP initiatives, such as cloud computing (SuccessFactors) and in-memory computing (HANA). To be included on Gartner&rsquo;s list, the trending strategic technology &ndash; whether existing or emerging &ndash;...Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:45:39 GMTSAP NFe - New Nota Fiscal Inbound Process Changes 2013http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/SAP-NFe-New-Nota-Fiscal-Inbound-Process-Changes-2013
There have been a lot of changes in 2012 concerning Brazil's Nota Fiscal legislation. First, we saw the mandate for the CT-e (transportation invoices), then we saw the CCe (correction notice), and now we see adjustments with the release of the Manifesta&ccedil;&atilde;o do Destinat&aacute;rio, which focuses on Inbound Events. There are two main reasons why the reception process is expanding: &bull; Ghost Transactions: Unscrupulous suppliers creating &ldquo;ghost&rdquo; transactions at the end of month using a CNPJ number of existing customers without their awareness. Transactions are then canceled later without consequence to the sending party. &bull; Incorrect Paper CC: Corrupted data created when customers use paper based &ldquo;correction notices&rdquo; (CC) to adjust NFe&rsquo;s created incorrectly in the first place. Such adjustments are often performed incorrectly, changing values that are not allowed without cancelling and re-issuing a new NFE. What is the Recipient Acknowle...Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:06:04 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Jens Koernerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Jens-Koerner
In this segment of Mobile Expert Video Series, I had the opportunity to interview SAP's Product Manager for the Mobility Platform, Jens Koerner. We discuss mobile middleware both on-premise and in the cloud. We also talk about Afaria (MDM) in the cloud. If your head is in the clouds, this is the episode for you. Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mSvFFRpCXs ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:13:32 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP CIO Oliver Bussmanhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAP-CIO-Oliver-Bussman
I had the honor of spending time with SAP's Global CIO, Oliver Bussman and interviewing him this week. In this segment of Mobile Expert Video Series, we discuss SAP's internal use of social, mobile, analytics and cloud solutions. Click Here to watch the video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:59:32 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Bryan Whitmarshhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Bryan-Whitmarsh
In this segment SAP mobility guru Bryan Whitmarsh and I discuss Afaria (MDM) and SAP's new product called SAP Box. SAP Box is similar to DropBox, but secured by Afaria. Very interesting indeed! The purpose is to give employees the capabilities of easily sharing content with other employees, but in a manner secured and approved by IT. Click Here to watch the video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:23:55 GMTDispatch from SAP TechEd: Vishal Talks HANA and Cool New Appshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Dispatch-from-SAP-TechEd-Vishal-Talks-HANA-and-Cool-New-Apps
By Lauren Bonneau, Managing Editor, insiderPROFILES. At the SAP TechEd keynote at the Venetian Hotel this morning in Las Vegas, SAP HANA certainly stole the show. Keynote speaker and SAP executive board member Vishal Sikka, who was introduced as "the Godfather of SAP HANA," said he was a bit uncomfortable with that kind of introduction, seeing as it came at an Italian-themed Vegas casino. He started his speech with some heartfelt and personal commentary about the injustice of being up so early in Sin City -- and shared his feelings about watching the beautiful sunrise as he was readying for this morning's events. Vishal equated the view to a fog lifting in the enterprise world today. And he spoke a lot about how SAP and "we" collectively are limited only by our imaginations. Of course, Vishal considers SAP HANA his little girl ("I have two boys and a little girl now," he joked.) And he dedicated much of the keynote to speaking about his little girl and the recent wins since the unv...Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:02:08 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Puneet Suppal on SAP Hanahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Puneet-Suppal-on-SAP-Hana
Is your company looking at monitoring and measuring social sentiment or opinion mining? What is social sentiment? Social sentiment analysis is designed to determine the attitude, opinion, emotional state, or intended emotional communication of a group. Companies want to know what the online world thinks of their products, services and brand. Social Sentiment analysis is where several technologies all work together SMAC - social , mobile , analytics and cloud. In this interview with SAP's Hana Platform member Puneet Suppal, we discuss how it all works together. Click Here to watch the video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mob...Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:48:54 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Sahara Alexishttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Sahara-Alexis
This week I am in San Ramon, California and had the privilege of meeting with and interviewing mobility expert and Cognizant Mobility's Head of Advisory Services, Sahara Alexis. Sahara racks up the frequent flyer mileage meeting with large enterprises around the world and talking about mobile strategies. What a strange job. Click Here to watch the video. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:06:01 GMTPodcast: Gartner's Susan Tan Provides Best Practices on Forging a Successful Partnership with Your ERP Implementation Providerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/October/Podcast-Gartners-Susan-Tan-Provides-Best-Practices-On-Forging-A-Successful-Partnership-With-Your-ERP
Choosing the right ERP implementation service provider can be one of the most important, yet sometimes overlooked, decisions a business will make in ERP implementation project. In this exclusive insiderPROFILES podcast, Gartner researcher Susan Tan discusses a report she recently authored, How to Partner With ERP Implementation Service Providers for Program Success . Tan, research director for Consulting and Integration Services team at Gartner, outlines the specific steps to take in choosing a provider and how to make sure the relationship is mutually agreeable. She also details considerations that are often overlooked, such as determining the scope of an ERP project, identifying the specific skill sets needed, and how to sustain the program beyond the all-important go-live. Finally, Tan explores the &ldquo;Four E&rdquo; approach to problem solving. insiderPROFILES also spoke with Tan in 2011 after she co-authored a report that analyzed 21 different SAP ERP implementation service providers. In that question and answer session , Tan also touches upon some of the important steps to take to manage the provider relationship.Thu, 11 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMTSmartphone Use in Emerging Economies: A Portal to Prosperityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Smartphone-Use-in-Emerging-Economies-A-Portal-to-Prosperity
By Ken Murphy. Several factors look to make 2013 a watershed year for the smartphone, but perhaps the biggest is their increased demand in emerging economies. According to a few recent reports that take a closer look at this growing smartphone demand, businesses that merge their mobility and globalization strategies to capitalize on the trend will likely not be lacking potential new customers. Just how fast is smartphone demand accelerating globally? Market researcher IHS iSuppli predicts that smartphones will have eclipsed feature phones to account for the majority of global cellphone shipments by the end of next year &ndash; two years earlier than anticipated. (The forecast: smartphones will account for 54 percent of the total cellphone market next year, up from 46 percent in 2012 and 35 percent in 2011). The market share report cites a stronger than expected demand from emerging economies for lower-cost products as one of the factors driving that acceleration. Results from the A...Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:17:39 GMTDetermining Anticipated ROIs for Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Determining-Anticipated-ROIs-for-Enterprise-Mobility
Over 90% of companies today believe enterprise mobility is "very important" to "critical" to their company&rsquo;s future success according to a recent study I completed. Yet identifying ROIs is still a major challenge. It seems intuitively people recognize enterprise mobility is a revolution that will change competitive landscapes, but they are still unsure as to exactly how it will impact their company. I propose that we as individuals understand how mobile technologies have changed our own lives, and believe the same will happen in our businesses. The challenge is that mobile technology can provide big changes - real-time data, real-time visibility, real-time analytics, real-time alerts and notifications, real-time KPI monitoring, real-time workforce tracking, real-time job status and real-time schedules, unified and 360 degree views of our operational areas, etc, and these capabilities can change entire processes, businesses, industries, service level agreements, customer inter...Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:00:57 GMTSAP e-Invoicing: Mexico CFDI September Updateshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/SAP-e-Invoicing-Mexico-CFDI-September-Updates
As always, there are constant changes and alterations to the laws for Latin America electronic invoicing. And, well we expect to see more out of Mexico towards the end of the year -- Here are some of the key amendments to the 2012 legislation that came out in September of 2012. Regimen fiscal to be mentioned in the &ldquo;comprobantes&rdquo; is repealed. The field still needs to be in the XML, but value can be N/A or any other word that means the same (Example: No Applica). Unit of measure. It will be possible to use any unit of measure in the &ldquo;comprobante&rdquo; based on the commercial needs. No particular value is required. Method of payment and the last 4 digits of account number are no longer required. (if not available or if the customer does not want to disclose they can use N/A or any word with the same meaning &ldquo;No Applica&rdquo;, &ldquo;No Disponible&rdquo; etc) The SAT will have a free solution for the emission of CFDI documents that will work without a PAC int...Mon, 08 Oct 2012 18:44:18 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Jason Lanierhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Jason-Lanier
In this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series, I have the privilege of interviewing Jason Lanier the VP of Products for @Hand Corp , a 15 year old mobile software company. In this interview we discuss the impact tablet computers have had on the asset management and field services industries. To watch the video click here.Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:15:30 GMTSimplifying the SAP IT Change Management Audit: Key Elements Part IVhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Simplifying-the-SAP-IT-Change-Management-Audit-Key-Elements-Part-IV
This is the fourth in the series on simplifying an SAP IT change management audit through automation and this month I took a look at the SAP IT change management element that verifies the policies and procedures around emergency change management. Element 6: Emergency Changes Emergency change policies and processes are designed to prevent unauthorized code being introduced into production systems. They are also designed to ensure that only emergency changes are managed as an emergency change. As controls increase and change management moves away from an ad-hoc process to a well-managed and well controlled process, it is not unusual to see an increase in the number of emergency changes as business owners and developers utilize the change category as a work around to get standard changes into production quicker. Reviewing the policies governing emergency change verifies that, an emergency change process exists and is followed, that emergency changes are emergencies and that appropria...Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:05:10 GMTMobile Tip #4: Guidelines for developing an effective and flexible mobile strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Tip-4-Guidelines-for-developing-an-effective-and-flexible-mobile-strategy
What are best practices for setting mobile strategy? This is the topic from the session, &ldquo;Mobile Infrastructure Management Simplified with SAP Afaria&trade;&rdquo; to be presented by Paul A. Horan &ndash; SAP Global Mobility SWAT at the upcoming Enterprise Mobility Conference 2012 , October 29-31 in Las Vegas. This excerpt highlights two of the session's Top 5 considerations when developing an effective - and flexible - mobile strategy: #1: Plan to support a wide variety of devices Android/Google Minimum requirement is v2.3 (Gingerbread) Supported through v4.04 (Ice Cream Sand.) Afaria AES available on Samsung devices Apple iOS6 Full support for existing functionality is currently available iOS 6 new feature support due in an upcoming Feature Pack release to 7.01 Microsoft (Win32/64 + WinMo) WinMo Std/Pro v5.0 thru 6.5.x WinCE 4.1, 4.2, 5.0 Windows 7 (64/32bit), Vista, XP Windows Server 2003, 2008 (64/32bit) RIM Blackberry Blackberry v5, v6, v7 supported Blackberry v10 Comple...Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:32:34 GMTIs the Customer Always Right ... For Your Profitability?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Is-the-Customer-Always-Right-dot-dot-dot-For-Your-Profitability
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs No matter what your role in business, you've probably been told in some way, shape, or form that "the customer is always right." But let's face it -- it's not true. In fact, some customers are just a pain in the neck. You know the ones I'm talking about. No matter how hard you work or how much attention you give them, it's just not enough. They constantly change their mind. They hem and haw over the most minor details. They distract you from your larger or more loyal customers. And in the end, sometimes they wind up buying from your competitor instead. It's maddening. We've all fallen victim to it at some point. And you know what? It's bad for business. In the time you spend serving that one customer, you could have served many other customers and brought in more money to your business. It's a resource drain. And in fact, in some cases, you may be losing money by serving that customer, depending on the cost to revenue ratio. But what do you do about it...Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:39:47 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Puneet Suppalhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Puneet-Suppal
This week I am attending Oracle OpenWorld and guess who I met there? SAP's mobility and Hana expert Puneet Suppal! "Surprise, surprise, surprise," as Gomer Pile used to say. In this interview I ask Puneet to share his thoughts on Oracle's conference, and to explain how SAP's Hana works with enterprise mobility solutions. Watch Video Here. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:16:00 GMTMobile tip #2: Integrating MEAP into your daily operations: Always apply the rule of 3http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-tip-2-Integrating-MEAP-into-your-daily-operations-Always-apply-the-rule-of-3
In my recent conversations with a few of the attendees who are signed up to attend the Enterprise Mobility 2012 conference at the end of this month, I found that a number of them are struggling with how to best integrate a Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) into their daily operations. Keeping this in mind, I wanted to post a tip from an upcoming session which delves into just that! This tip was taken from the session &ldquo; How best-run companies with asset intensive requirements exploit the full capabilities of enterprise mobility&rdquo; to be presented by Quentin Fisher, SAP Edge Solutions Director at CSC, at the upcoming Enterprise Mobility Conference 2012 , October 29-31 in Las Vegas. For more info on the event, visit www.mobileenterprise2012.com. Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) The rule of 3 applies when strategizing on MEAP ? If an organization is targeting three or more device platforms ? If they have three or more applications ? Or if they have th...Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:38:08 GMTMobile tip #1: Why your mobile UI is so important and key things to avoidhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/October/Mobile-tip-1-Why-your-mobile-UI-is-so-important-and-key-things-to-avoid
I hope everyone is looking forward to the Enterprise Mobility 2012 conference, scheduled for October 29-31 in Las Vegas!! We've got a great program lined up with lots of fantastic content. As I was looking through some of the presentations, I found a great tip from Pete Lagana, VP of Digital Experience at Excellis Interactive that I thought would be worthwhile to share. For more info on the event, visit www.mobileenterprise2012.com . This tip provides insight into the importance of a good Mobile User Interface as well as some instances of how a mobile UI can go wrong, bascially key things you'll want to avoid in your design. A good mobile UI lowers total cost of ownership 63% of software projects exceeded their development budgets because of: - Frequent requests for changes by users - Overlooked tasks and/or functionality - Users&rsquo; lack of understanding of their own requirements - Insufficient user-to-analyst communication and understanding A good mobile UI Eliminates Training...Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:33:18 GMTStandard Bank Shows How Mobile Devices Can Help Reduce Poverty in Africahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2012/October/Standard-Bank-Shows-How-Mobile-Devices-Can-Help-Reduce-Poverty-In-Africa
The inability to access banking services is one of many contributing factors to poverty in Africa. For people living in rural areas far from a physical bank branch, it can be difficult to apply for credit cards, manage savings, or pay bills. By offering a way for people to easily open bank accounts and access banking services with their mobile phones, Standard Bank may just be helping reduce poverty on the continent.Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMTVodafone Goes Mobile with One of the World's Biggest SAP ERP Rolloutshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2012/October/Vodafone-Goes-Mobile-With-One-Of-The-Worlds-Biggest-SAP-ERP-Rollouts
Mobile service provider Vodafone Group has grown tremendously since its creation 27 years ago. And in today’s booming mobile market, there is no foreseeable end in sight. But to continue to grow as a company, Vodafone needed to function more like a single entity, with common practices, centralized operations, and data sharing between operating companies.Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMTSMAC (Social Mobile Analytics and Cloud)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/SMAC-Social-Mobile-Analytics-and-Cloud
I am working on a number of different SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) projects now. At first glance it may seem like four different directions, but they are all connected via enterprise mobility. Where would social media and any media be without the smartphone, laptop and tablet? Nearly all the research I have studied this year discuss mobility in terms of helping people make better real-time decisions no matter their location. Isn't that real-time business analytics connected to mobile devices? On-top of reduced operating expenses and a focus on core competencies, isn't the real value of cloud solutions the ability to access your apps and data from anywhere on any device? That sounds like a direct link to enterprise mobility to me. Enterprise mobility is the catalyst for many other technology trends. Without mobile devices and mobile apps the world would be a different place. Looking at SMAC (social mobile analytics and cloud), is like looking into the mirror of IT toda...Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:47:22 GMTCompeting with Mobile Technologieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Competing-with-Mobile-Technologies
Tough competitive markets can be a call to improve and innovate for many services businesses. It can be that extra push, that motivation we need to conduct some introspection. It is these times that require reviewing how we are doing business today with a critical eye on how we can accomplish more with less (increasing productivity), improve customer service and reduce inefficiencies. Mobile Technologies can play a significant role in all three areas. The following list identifies a few of the many areas where mobile technologies commonly can help a services business become more competitive. As you read through this list, think about other areas in your unique business where mobile technologies would offer value: Efficiencies in communicating information between the office and the remote service technician or jobsite Efficiencies in planning and scheduling work based upon job status, location, parts and supply inventories and expertise Reducing fuel costs Reducing travel time Reduc...Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:14:24 GMTThe Theory of Everything (Sort of) and Mobile Technologieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/The-Theory-of-Everything-Sort-of-and-Mobile-Technologies
Sometime back I read an article in the New York Times titled, The Theory of Everything (Sort of) by Thomas L. Friedman. Here is an excerpt, "Thanks to cloud computing, robotics, 3G (4G now) wireless connectivity, Skype, Facebook, Google, Linkedin, Twitter, the iPad and cheap Internet enabled smartphones the world has gone from connected to hyper-connected... This is the single most important trend in the world today. And it is a critical reason why, to get into the middle class now, you have to study harder, work smarter and adapt quicker than ever before. All this globalization is eliminating more and more "routine" work- the sort of work that once sustained a lot of middle-class lifestyles." I suggest the same is true for the enterprise. The enterprise must study harder, work smarter and adapt quicker that ever before. The world is changing and mobile technologies are going to revolutionize the way companies work. In the last several enterprise mobility survey polls that I have r...Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:58:44 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Moshe BenBassat (Mobile AI and Context Aware Apps)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Moshe-BenBassat-Mobile-AI-and-Context-Aware-Apps
Did you have a chance to watch Dr. Moshe BenBassat's video last week where he discussed his background working with NASA, ballistic missile defense, the Army and Air Force logistics, and how he uses that experience today to develop mobile applications? It was very interesting! In this video, which can be considered a Part 2 to last week's, he discusses the use of artificial intelligence, contextual aware and predictive applications for the services industry. Again, a very intriguing notion. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant Read The Future of Work Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: I am a mobility analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles. These are my personal opinions onl...Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:46:40 GMTSAP eInvoicing - Mexico CFDI: Don't wait to Upgradehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/SAP-eInvoicing-Mexico-CFDI-Dont-wait-to-Upgrade
There is a small storm of activity coming in the next 18 months. And even though it is hurricane season, I am not speaking about rain and wind. I am speaking about the transition from CFD to CFDI for Mexico eInvoicing compliance. Many companies are coming up on their deadlines for CFDI in December of 2012 and early Q1 of 2013. However, many companies are waiting too long to address the project needs. This will be a costly mistake and a potential audit risk to the controllers responsible for the books in Mexico. Remember, Mexico's SAT considers non-compliance with the laws a criminal offense: punishable by both fines and JAIL TIME. The issue that most companies don't understand is that there will be many companies that have to transition to CFDI, not just them. The industry estimates that less than 10% of invoices have been transitioned to CFDI. This leaves over 90% of the volume needing to transition in the future. Here are a few things to remember as you start to rush your evaluat...Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:56:46 GMTBig Data's Value Gets Bigger With Open Datahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Big-Datas-Value-Gets-Bigger-With-Open-Data
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Open source. Open platform. Open software. Open data. Open eyes. The value proposition for big data stems from the fact that it's, well, big. We could debate definitions all day, but in my mind, big data brings value because it is data that wasn't originally created with a specific goal in mind in most cases. It's data that in the past hasn't be leveraged well. It's social media, it's machine-to-machine data, it's well, I don't have to define it to you. You know what it is and why it's valuable. But the value of that data, generated within the enterprise or by consumers, can increase exponentially when it's combined with government, NGO or other publically available data such as housing, genomic, or GPS information. Imagine gathering up all of that data, analyzing it, and creating new data based on that analysis -- and then make THAT data available to others, either for free or for a hefty price tag, depending on just how valuable that data is to other...Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:15:34 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Gary Delancyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Gary-Delancy
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of sitting down and talking with a 20-year enterprise mobility veteran, Gary Delancy, VP of Product Development at DSI . Twenty years ago mobility was mostly relegated to warehouse management. Since then DSI has become a power house enterprise mobility company in many different industries, including a strong presence in manufacturing environments. This year, for the first time, Gartner has included them in their Magic Quadrant for MADP (mobile application development platforms). They also have a long history of integrating enterprise mobility with M2M (machine to-machine) environments. You can watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: I am a mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with a...Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:49:05 GMTMobile Workforce, Enterprise Mobility and Mobile Workflowshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Mobile-Workforce-Enterprise-Mobility-and-Mobile-Workflows
I work with and teach mobile strategies to a lot of large utility companies around the world. Over the past few years I have been hearing a similar concern from these companies. They have an aging workforce, and many of their most experienced experts are nearing retirement age. They are very concerned with losing the institutional knowledge these workers have gained through their many years on the job. This wisdom is in their heads but rarely documented. It seems to me one solution would be to start developing "mobile workflows" junior technicians could access and use. These "mobile workflows" could be developed by experienced experts for the use of more junior service technicians. These "mobile workflows" could be integrated into mobile applications by way of dispatched service tickets/work orders. Figure 2 - Mobile Workflow Configurator What I am proposing is a layer in mobile applications that includes "mobile workflows." These mobile workflows will clearly instruct the s...Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:37:25 GMTDo's and don'ts for using Solution Documentation Assistanthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Dos-and-donts-for-using-Solution-Documentation-Assistant
This Solution Manager tip comes courtesy of Heiko Hecht from IBIS America, who is a speaker at our upcoming Solution Manager Seminar , October 28-31, 2012 in Las Vegas. Dos: &bull;Set a target! /p p br /Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:39:09 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: DSI's Scott Lutzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-DSIs-Scott-Lutz
Have you ever seen an office designed around Apple TV, iPhones and iPads? Have you ever seen an enterprise mobile software company that runs their customer business center entirely on mobile technologies? This is DSI's first year on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for MADP (mobile application development platform), but they have been around for over 30 years, have private jets, offices all around the world and very cool facilities! Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst and Mobile Strategy Consultant Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Strategic Enterprise Mobility Linkedin Group Full Disclosure: I am a mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:07:59 GMTEnterprise Mobility and Changing Business Modelshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Enterprise-Mobility-and-Changing-Business-Models
Have you read about the on-demand, smartphone oriented car service called Uber ? They are turning the taxi and car service industry on their heads. Why? They allow you to use a free mobile app to hail an available car service or taxi with the push of a button. You can see the location of available cars. You can review the passenger ratings of drivers. Payment is integrated with the application so you don't need cash. You can call the driver with the push of the button. The user experience is wonderful, according to a patient colleague of mine that I questioned over dinner last night. You can see the distance an available car is from you, and then watch the car's progress as it drives to pick you up. When it nears, you receive a text message, and when it arrives you receive a text message. Probably one of the coolest features is the receipt you receive upon completion of the ride. It includes pick-up location on a map, route taken, drop-off location, distance traveled, a photo of yo...Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:32:10 GMTDr. Berg on first steps in a HANA implementation & the future of BWhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/September/Dr-Berg-On-First-Steps-In-A-HANA-Implementation-The-Future-Of-BW
Get the latest on Dr. Berg's HANA implementation - listen in on this conversation between SAPexperts' Scott Wallask and Dr. Bjarne Berg of Comerit. Berg details his own recent HANA rollout, the planning involved, troublespots, and how his experience is baked into his upcoming HANA book with IBM's Penny Silvia. Don't miss Berg's thoughts on the inevitable impact on BW ... and Berg's take on the correct pronunciation of "HANA."Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:35:26 GMTSimplifying the SAP IT Change Management Audit: Key Elements Part IIIhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/September/Simplifying-the-SAP-IT-Change-Management-Audit-Key-Elements-Part-III
Last month I began a new series on simplifying an SAP IT change management audit through change control automation and provided an overview of the IT change management audit scope and the various elements considered. There are a number of key elements included in an IT change management audit with each element considered critical to effective change management to ensure changes are developed, tested and deployed in a controlled and authorized manner. This month I take a deeper look at the first few key SAP IT change management elements i.e. change management policies and procedures and change initiation and approval and discuss briefly their simplification through use of automation. Element 1: Change management policies and procedures Formally documented change management processes and the effective maintenance of them are expected to prevent faulty or damaging change being delivered into Production systems. Reviewing these documented change management processes and checking that t...Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:48:36 GMTEnterprise Mobility, Robotic Pharmaceuticals and M2Mhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Enterprise-Mobility-Robotic-Pharmaceuticals-and-M2M
I flew home this week from the Midwest, and sat next to a service technician who worked for a manufacturer of robotic pharmaceuticals. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Neither had I! It seems pharmacies install these pharmaceutical vending machines to automate the dispensing of the 200 bestselling pills. They replace the routine error prone pill counting work in the pharmacy. Here is where it gets really interesting! Doctors in their clinics may prescribe medicine for a patient by tapping the screen of their iPad (or any data input device), selecting the appropriate medicine, pharmacy and submitting the order. The electronic order goes through the practice management software which electronically sends an order to the pharmacy's pharmaceutical robotics vending machine that automatically selects the right medicine, counts the prescribed number of pills, selects the appropriate container, drops the pills into the container, labels the container and spits it out onto the shelf for...Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:35:17 GMTSituational Awareness, Enterprise Mobility and Field Serviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Situational-Awareness-Enterprise-Mobility-and-Field-Services
I read an interesting article this morning titled, Afghanistan Creates Proving Ground for UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) Capabilities . Here is an excerpt from the last paragraph of this article, "They (UAS) are providing the kind of situational awareness that wasn&rsquo;t even imagined a generation ago,&rdquo; Singer said. &ldquo;The sea change that&rsquo;s happened is that they have gone from being unimagined to an expectation.&rdquo; I am on a Delta flight as I am writing this article, connected to the Internet, and keeping up with my workload. I also have situational awareness as I am connected into all of my business and banking systems. I can communicate and receive updates from my clients and customers. This capability, was also unimagined a few years ago, but is now an expectation. After reading the article I referenced above, I pondered how this technology could help the field services industry. I came to the conclusion that most field services organizations will not be f...Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:48:21 GMTMobile Apps for Almost Everythinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Mobile-Apps-for-Almost-Everything
On Monday, August 27, 2012, The Wall Street Journal published The Technology Journal Report dedicated to mobile apps. The report included some very interesting numbers that I want to share: The average smartphone user will download 37 mobile apps this year 36 billion mobile apps will be downloaded in 2012 136 billion mobile apps are predicted to be downloaded in 2017 The average smartphone user in the USA spends 94 minutes per day using mobile apps The average smartphone user in the USA spends 72 minutes per day using browsers There are 650,000 apps available in the Apple App Store There are 600,000 apps available in Google Play In addition to these numbers the article identified many different categories of mobile apps: Find Shopping Deals Remember Everything Find a Restaurant Get Fit and Stay Fit Go to the Movies Take a Trip Parenting Educating Your Preschooler Find a House Manage Your Money How a Remote Meeting Teach Math and Science to Kids Prepare a Meal Keep Track of Your Kid...Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:05:24 GMTSAP options for connecting dashboards to data sources: Universes & BEX query tip from Xcelsius Bootcamphttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/SAP-options-for-connecting-dashboards-to-data-sources-Universes-BEX-query-tip-from-Xcelsius-Bootcam
This tip is from the session &lsquo;Connecting Your Dashboard to Back-End Data Sources: A Comprehensive Guide,&rsquo; presented at Xcelsius Dashboards Bootcamp by Roy Wells (@rgwbobj ) of Decision First Technologies. This session &ndash; one of the 3 days of sessions presented by dashboard experts including Bjarne Berg, Miko Yuk and others - covers specific steps and advice on connecting live data to your dashboards and selecting the right connection types. In addition to reviewing managing non-SAP connections (Excel Data Maps, Generic Web services, Flash Vars), Roy Wells covers SAP BusinessObjects Conenctions in detail, including step-by-step instructions for adding a query in the Query Browser. Here are some tips on Query Browser Connections, new in 4.0, for connecting Universes and BX queries: Overview of SAP Business Objects Connections Provided Out of the Box: New in 4.0: Query Browser Connections Universes or BEX Queries Web Service Que ry (formerly Query as a Web Service) Li...Mon, 27 Aug 2012 19:09:19 GMTMission Critical - Mobile Device Management and Controlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Mission-Critical-Mobile-Device-Management-and-Control
Have you ever thought about how a company should manage battery life on a smartphone when they support a BYOD IT environment? Think about it, a person brings their own smartphone to work that only has 10% battery charge, they drive 40 miles out to a job site and their battery dies. They have a dead device when they should be updating work orders, inventory levels, schedules, job status and new product sales. I am personally impatiently waiting for the release of iPhone 5, because my iPhone does not hold its charge any longer. By about 1 PM, my battery is getting low. I am lucky I don't need to use it to take product orders and scan bar codes throughout the rest of the afternoon. If this impacted my productivity, and I had an employer, I wonder if they would ask me to go out and buy a new personal device? In many industries and businesses it is not enough to simply hope your workforce manages their personal mobile devices efficiently and reliably, as the business is too dependent up...Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:20:18 GMTSeeking Bridge Builders to Help Cross the Business-IT Chasm (Podcast with Jon Reed and Michael Doane)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Seeking-Bridge-Builders-to-Help-Cross-the-Business-IT-Chasm-Podcast-with-Jon-Reed-and-Michael-Doane
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs There's a common theme in almost every IT project, no matter the company, the technology or the geography. Business has one set of goals and ideas for a project, and IT has a slightly different understanding of the goals and ideas. Hopefully there is a lot of common ground but inevitably there will be areas of differences. And those differences are what send IT projects into the abyss. The process itself is outdated and creates nothing but friction in the business, says consultant Michael Doane i n a recent podcast here on the Insider Learning Network . "You begin with business identifying a need and then coming forward with the quaint notion of an 'IT work request." If the two don't see eye to eye on the request, the negotiations begin. And continue. But Doane and independent SAP analyst Jon Reed say there is a solution to this problem. It's called Business Process Expertise and it's not so much a methodology as it is a new role or career path in the...Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:21:49 GMTMobilized Objects, M2M and Mobile Strategieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Mobilized-Objects-M2M-and-Mobile-Strategies
A good friend of mine is a civil engineer. He works on many tidal flat and water way projects. He was telling me about driving 2 hours north of Seattle to collect data from one water level sensor. The data collection took one minute. He then drove 2 hours back to Seattle. For this one data collection activity, the cost was a 4 hours of time from a senior engineer, fuel and lost opportunity costs. I shared with my engineering friend that there are M2M communication systems that utilize embedded wireless chips that could simply message him the data from the water level sensor using wireless technology. He thought that would have been a brilliant idea! Although a brilliant idea, it would have costs far more to set-up (mobilize the object) with a M2M system than it cost him to drive there and collect it for one sensor. However, if he had 1,000 sensors that needed monitoring, the costs savings could have been enormous. M2M systems need volume to generate a good ROI, but if there is volu...Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:58:41 GMTThe Value of Business Process Expertise (BPX) in an SAP Organizationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/August/The-Value-Of-Business-Process-Expertise-BPX-In-An-SAP-Organization
Many companies struggle to bridge the gap between IT and business. In this exclusive Insider Learning Network podcast consultant Michael Doane and analyst Jon Reed discuss business process expertise (BPX) and its ability to bridge that business-IT gap in the SAP environment. Reed and Doane review a BPX maturity model they are jointly developing which provides a clear path to BPX, making this a must-listen podcast for all SAP organizations.Thu, 23 Aug 2012 11:03:52 GMTBPC 10 tip: Special considerations for security, roles & user accesshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/BPC-10-tip-Special-considerations-for-security-roles-user-access
At our most recent three-day BPC Bootcamp , Accenture's Anand Surange shared his expert advice on securing BPC systems in his session "Critical Lessons for Configuring and Managing Security in Your Planning and Consolidation System." Anand covered a variety of security concerns, including special considerations and advanced security with BPC 10. Anand will also be presenting this session in the upcoming BPC Bootcamp events in Las Vegas, October 29-31 and in Amsterdam, December 3-5. Here is a quick tip from that presentation, including step-by-step instructions for adding a user in BPC 10. Security with BPC 10 - Special considerations BPC 10 for SAP NetWeaver handles users quite a bit differentl .NET server and the ability to import Windows and AD users via the .NET server is gone User Management is in the SAP NetWeaver layer &ndash; Using SU01 Roles/profiles Make sure profiles are generated for all roles If the user is to be allowed access via the Web interface, the user must have...Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:51:00 GMTBill Cosby + Milk = Fun HANA Pollhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Bill-Cosby-Milk-Fun-HANA-Poll
By Scott Wallask, Managing Editor, SAPexperts.com There was a funny kids TV show when I was growing up called the Electric Company . It wasn&rsquo;t about utilities or electrical work, but instead tried to help children read better. Those of you out there who remember this show will recall a skit featuring two famous performers, Bill Cosby and Rita Moreno. The pair played milk delivery drivers, and they had a spirited discussion about determining how many milk bottles to leave at a home&rsquo;s door each morning. The skit involved a torn note left for Moreno by a family, and she had to decipher it based on the words she could read. Growing impatient, Moreno decides to skip the note and just yell to the household, &ldquo;Hey, you guys!&rdquo; Fast forward to 2012, and there&rsquo;s another heated video clip that involves deciphering &ndash; in this case, the pronunciation of HANA . The two characters in the video ain&rsquo;t Cosby and Moreno &ndash; they look more like Lego figures...Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:16:02 GMTSAP Enterprise Mobility and M2M in Your Companyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/SAP-Enterprise-Mobility-and-M2M-in-Your-Company
Last week I spent some time with SAP's Sanjay Poonen discussing M2M (machine-to-machine) communications. I came away from that discussion excited that SAP was focusing on this emerging market that I have found so fascinating. Most IT departments have been so focused on figuring out how to implement enterprise mobility and support communicating with people using smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, that they have not yet thought about communicating with mobile and/or remote machines. Here is an excerpt from the article I wrote last week about my discussions with SAP's Sanjay Poonen on the topic of M2M. "Sanjay and I spent quite a bit of time talking about where mobile security is going, beyond MDM. From MDM to Mobile App Management, to Secure Content Management, to eventually M2M (machine-to-machine) communications. He talked about how this field will have a big impact in SAP&rsquo;s plans. In fact, Sanjay had just chaired a conference call with about 50 SAP internal peopl...Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:00:27 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of August 12, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-August-12-2012
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly Also read Mobile Health News Weekly Smartphone sales to end-users grew year-on-year by 42.7 percent in the second quarter to 153.7 million units, and accounted for 36.7 percent of total sales. Read Original Content Gartner reports the mobile phone market saw weakened demand in the second quarter of 2012, as &ldquo;the challenging economic environment and users postponing upgrades to take advantage of high-profile device launches and promotions available later in the year slowed demand across markets&rdquo;. Read Original Content AnyPresence, a leading cloud-based mobile platform provider, has announced it has raised $5.5 million in Series B funding to further accelerate the company&rsquo;s growth and customer success. Read Original Content ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware . Apple&rsquo;s share of all tablet sales jumped 44 percent in the second quarter over the previous three-month stretch, said IHS iSuppli. Apple's iPad accounted for 70 percent of the 24.4 million tablets sold in the period ending June 30. Read Original Content According to Gartner, within the last quarter, Android outsold iOS devices nearly three to one while capturing 64 percent of the worldwide market share. Samsung was the top dog accounting for 90 million handset sales. Read Original Content Apple's share of the smartphone market dominated at AT&T and Verizon, but Samsung's share was growing, records show. In the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple's share of the market had grown by 3 percent from the first quarter of 2010, while Samsung's had more than quadrupled to 12 percent during the same period. Read Original Content iMore, the first blog to publish reports that Apple plans to unveil its latest iteration of the smartphone on September 12, is now saying that pre-orders will begin that day and that the phone will be released nine days later, on September 21. Read Original Content More that a dozen retailers including Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target and 7-Eleven have joined forces to form the Merchant Customer Exchange, a mobile-payments network that will compete with Google and Isis. Read Original Content Yankee Group estimates global mobile advertising revenue will expand by three and a half times its present level by 2016. Read Original Content LG Electronics said on Wednesday it had sold 5 million LTE smartphones, including one million in just the month of July, as it looks to capitalize on the move toward the next generation of wireless mobile technology. Read Original Content Flurry Analytics claims that in 2009 the iOS and Android games software market accounted for 19 percent of the total $2.7 billion handheld and mobile games market in the U.S. In 2001 it claimed a 58 percent share of the $3.3 billion market. Read Original Content In a recent online poll, Nokia asked participants to vote on their preferred input method: QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, number keypad, and voice command. Approximately 48.64 percent of respondents went with QWERTY keyboard, while touchscreens lagged by nearly 15 percent. Read Original Content HTC might have lost out on market share recently, but that isn't stopping the carrier from releasing the first full HD smartphone, which is now being referred to as the HTC Valencia. Read Original Content World&rsquo;s leading IT research and advisory company Gartner says that the Android mobile phone market is growing at an impressive rate of 32 percent every month, and the world has already seen 50,000 plus Android apps being developed. Read Original Content Research firm Gartner&rsquo;s most recent report shows Microsoft's smartphone platform went from 1.6 percent in Q2 2011 to 2.7 in Q2 2012. Read Original Content Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict divThu, 16 Aug 2012 18:35:32 GMTWhat Do Mobility Consultants Really Think?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/What-Do-Mobility-Consultants-Really-Think
Earlier this week I wrote an article titled, " What Do Mobile Technology Vendors Really Think? ", which covered technology vendors' responses to my "2012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey." This article is reviewing the answers from enterprise mobility consultants and comparing and contrasting them with the mobile software vendors' answers. Q: What are your biggest challenges to implementing enterprise mobility today? A: #1 answer - Developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy, #2 - Determining anticipated ROIs, and #3 - Finding qualified mobility experts to assist with implementations. The first two rankings were the same between mobile technology vendors and mobile consultants, but finding qualified mobility experts was a bigger problem for mobility consultants. Q: Where do you expect to find the biggest ROIs as a result of implementing mobile solutions? A: #1 answer - Increased productivity of mobile workers, #2 - Real-time data collection and reporting from mobile workers, #...Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:33:44 GMTMobile Expert Podcast: Unvired's Srinivasan Subramanianhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Mobile-Expert-Podcast-Unvireds-Srinivasan-Subramanian
In this 18 minute audio podcast, Srinivasan Subramanian from Unvired and I discuss all kinds of issues related to enterprise mobility, mobile strategies and cloud mobility. The audio is not perfect, but the content is good. Grab some popcorn, or jump on the treadmill and I hope you enjoy! Here is the link in case the audio player does not appear in your browser: www.box.com/shared/aa55e7e5adf5c521504c ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am a n independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:44:10 GMTThe Risks of Shadow IT in Your Organizationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/August/The-Risks-Of-Shadow-IT-In-Your-Organization
In this podcast, consultant and author Michael Doane describes the risks and dangers of the shadow IT organization in an SAP environment. The podcast includes a short quiz to determine if you are at risk of shadow IT as well as suggestions on what to do if you find the shadows in your organization.Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:36:42 GMTWhat Do Mobile Software Vendors Really Think?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/What-Do-Mobile-Software-Vendors-Really-Think
I am writing an analyst report based upon the survey data from last month's 2 012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey . Thanks again for everyone that took it! I filtered the data to learn the opinions of those that identified themselves as mobility vendors. I find these answers very interesting because mobility vendors talk to a lot of people, as a result, their opinions are often a reflection of what they hear in the market. Q: What are your biggest challenges to implementing enterprise mobility today? A: The number 1 answer was, "Developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy. There was a tie for the next 2 between, "Determining anticipated ROIs" and, "Educating stakeholders on the potential impact of enterprise mobility on the business." Q: Where do you expect to find the biggest ROIs as a result of implementing mobile solutions? A: The number 1 answer was, "Increased productivity of mobile workers." The number 2 answer was, "Improved decision making due to real-time data." The...Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:44:41 GMTSAP Enterprise Mobility Update with Sanjay Poonenhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/SAP-Enterprise-Mobility-Update-with-Sanjay-Poonen
I had the privilege of spending time on the phone last week with SAP's President and Corporate Officer, Sanjay Poonen. He has responsibility for several of the innovation products at SAP, and also has overall responsibility for mobility. I must take a moment to apologize again to Sanjay for being late to the call. Let me digress for a moment, my iPhone and MacBook Pro have never processed calendar invites reliably. They mess up the time zone conversions. Am I the only one with this issue? Apple has tried a dozen times to fix it, without luck. OK, back to my call with Sanjay. Sanjay updated me on the record Q2 sales numbers for all aspects of SAP&rsquo;s innovations &ndash; Hana, Mobile and Cloud, and then we went into more details around all things mobile. He also shared how Syclo's Founder Rich Padula, has joined his team, and is now going to be responsible for all SAP mobile apps, including Syclo . This is a good move as Rich is a proven mobile industry veteran. Also, Syclo's mob...Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:24:56 GMTGamification Isn't Just For Kidshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Gamification-Isnt-Just-For-Kids
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Bunchball? BigDoor? PugPharm? Jive? You might not know them, but they know you. These are some of the most mature gamification platform vendors and they are staring right at you, Mr. and Mrs. Enterprise. According to M2 Research , in January 2011, gamification vendors derived roughly 9% of their revenue from the enterprise. This year, it's 38%. And enterprise is the industry's biggest vertical at 25%. Feel the eyes on you now? Okay, you still don't care about gamification? Well, frankly, you might not care because you might not quite know what is meant by "gamification." I'm not sure I did (okay do), but in a recent Deloitte Review article, I got the clearest definition I've come across yet: "Gamification is a process that applies the thinking and tools of a game designer, such as mechanics, to an existing real business problem or process." (Note they didn't say "IT solution" but "problem or process.") So the definition is clear. It's not about technol...Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:20:17 GMTMDM is Not Dead - Ask the Right Questionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/MDM-is-Not-Dead-Ask-the-Right-Questions
In my former career as the CEO of a mobile application company, I remember my professional services team coming into my office one day and asking me to buy licenses of an MDM (mobile device management) solution from a vendor called Soti . My team wanted to be able to troubleshoot new mobile applications on a large variety of different mobile devices. They wanted remote access to both the device and the apps so they could understand bugs and issues that were reported from the field. This is still a very useful feature. Today, however, few of the MDM/MAM vendors adequately support this feature. In my experience, the ability to have remote access and remote control of a mobile device is very useful. I recently interviewed a CEO who shared how it had taken several years and many rounds of change management classes to get his field services technicians comfortable and using mobile technology. In these kinds of work environments, the team deploying the mobile technology is often struggli...Thu, 09 Aug 2012 19:00:33 GMTPodcast: Keys to e-Invoicing Success in Latin Americahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/August/Podcast-Keys-To-E-Invoicing-Success-In-Latin-America
In his second podcast here on the Insider Learning Network, Steve Sprague of Invoiceware shares his expertise on how e-invoicing can help avoid some consequences when being audited in Mexico. Sprague also specifically addresses the challenges associated with Mexico’s CFDI regulations as well as those in various other Latin American countries.Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:49:35 GMTUltimate Mobile Technologies, UAVs and Artificial Intelligencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Ultimate-Mobile-Technologies-UAVs-and-Artificial-Intelligence
I read an interesting article this week titled I AM War Plane that was published in the August 2012 edition of the magazine Popular Science . It was written by Clay Dillow and explored the new mobile technology that permits unmanned fighter planes to fly from specialized aircraft carriers. The prototype plane, X-47B, is the world's first autonomous warplane, and first unmanned plane ever to land on a carrier. By autonomous, the author means the ability to, in real-time, "assess fluid situations and form dynamic responses." It is a stealth plane designed to deliver strikes or perform reconnaissance. This plane is now part of the U.S. military's approximately 10,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in its inventory. Here is the connection to enterprise mobility - these planes are loaded with remote sensors, video, radar, infrared and all kinds of mobile technology that is securely synchronizing with a back-office server in real time. This is an incredible glimpse into the future of en...Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:14:58 GMTTraveling and Mobile Technologies in the Militaryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/August/Traveling-and-Mobile-Technologies-in-the-Military
This week our little family is celebrating the graduation of our son from OCS (Officer Candidate School) at Fort Benning in Georgia. We are as proud as parents can be! So this week we are attending his graduation and experiencing the Georgia heat in August. Not our typical August holiday destination, but we are thrilled to be here. Now what is the connection between our family's celebrations and mobile technologies? Let me try to tie this all together. First, while our son was attending Boise State University, he helped us work on many mobile newsletters and mobile industry research projects that you may have read. Second, we flew into Atlanta, Georgia this week and while on a layover in Minneapolis, we checked our gate and next flight details on our Delta Airlines mobile iPhone app. Then when we landed in Atlanta, I used my iPhone TripIt! mobile app to reference the phone number of our hotel, and to call and ask if they had a shuttle service. We then rented a car from Hertz where...Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:09:05 GMTAdvice from an SAP HANA pilot customerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Advice-from-an-SAP-HANA-pilot-customer
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I'll say up front, I'm NOT a fan of using unnamed sources in blog posts and articles. In fact, I hate it. But just this once, while I can't risk giving away a great source yet, the information he provided is timely and useful to a lot of SAP customers, so I had to dish it. I talked with a high-level executive last week at an SAP customer who's piloting SAP HANA for a very unique application. That's all you're getting right now about the project itself (it will show up in much more detail later, trust me). His advice for other companies investigating SAP HANA is of great value because I think the "where to start" question for SAP HANA is on everyone's mind right now. "The real power of SAP HANA is that it can help your company make better decisions faster. So if there is an area where you have a lot of data, but you're having difficulty accessing the data for end-users, that's where you want to point SAP HANA first." Like any investment, the early SAP H...Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:16:00 GMTChanging Times for Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Changing-Times-for-Enterprise-Mobility
As I was running this morning in the Boise foothills, OK walking at a brisk pace, I was pondering how fast enterprise mobility is evolving. Today, HTML5 and Android security are critical check box items for any company considering standardizing on a mobile application development platform and a mobile application management platforms. The MAM (mobile application management) and MDM (mobile device management) vendors have all been working hard to bring order out of chaos in the Android space as demonstrated by this recent announcement, " SOTI Inc ., an Enterprise Mobility Device Management (MDM) vendor, has unveiled new technology that enables corporations to consistently manage security policies across Android devices from all manufacturers . " It has been a challenge for most vendors to provide enterprise quality security for Android devices due to the many different versions of the Android OS that manufactures use. Most vendors would only support or secure a limited subset early...Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:30:53 GMTiOS Conquers the Enterprisehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/iOS-Conquers-the-Enterprise
In a new report published by Appcelerator/IDC yesterday titled 2Q 2012 Mobile Report ( download here ), iOS appears to have conquered the enterprise mobility market. Here is an excerpt from the report, "iOS has opened a dramatic 16% lead over Android in the mobile enterprise apps space. Developers now think iOS will win over Android in the enterprise 53%-37%; in 3Q 2011 iOS and Android were tied at 44%." It will be interesting to now watch how both iOS and Windows 8 will impact Android in the enterprise. This report seems to suggest that Google's Android could be in for some stiff competition, "Developers are cautiously optimistic about Windows 8 tablets, and find Microsoft&rsquo;s Metro UI especially compelling. Therefore a key dynamic to watch going forward will be Microsoft&rsquo;s opportunity to eclipse Android as the number two operating system priority for mobile enterprise app developers, especially given Microsoft&rsquo;s strengths in the enterprise market through Office an...Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:21:25 GMTExperts tackle HANA pricing and non-BW optionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Experts-tackle-HANA-pricing-and-non-BW-options
One of my favorite questions during Dr. Bjarne Berg and Penny Silvia's Q&A web chat about SAP HANA this week had to do with the cost of the in-memory technology. Berg is a NetWeaver BW expert at Comerit, and Silvia is North America leader within IBM for SAP Business Analytics & Technology solutions and a technical advisor for SAPexperts.com . They are co-authoring a new SAP PRESS book, SAP HANA: An Introduction, which is available for pre-order. During our Q&A, participant Sunil Kolhe asked a jackpot question: For a 30 TB database to migrate to HANA (standalone, not on BW), what HANA hardware will I need for successful implementation and what would be cost and license estimates? Try asking that question to SAP during a public forum and you'll usually get an answer like, "Well, you need to talk to you r account rep, blah, blah." This is why I like Berg's work on this website: He's straightforward. The hardware costs for a 1 TB memory box with 20 cores and 3 TB disks is around $50K t...Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:49:21 GMTSimplifying the SAP IT Change Management Audit: Key Elements Part Ihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Simplifying-the-SAP-IT-Change-Management-Audit-Key-Elements-Part-I
Last post we started discussing simplifying an SAP IT change management audit through change control automation and provided an overview of the IT change management audit scope and the various elements considered. There are a number of key elements included in an IT change management audit with each element considered critical to effective change management to ensure changes are developed, tested and deployed in a controlled and authorised manner. In this post we take a deeper look at the first few key SAP IT change management elements i.e. change management policies and procedures and change initiation and approval and discuss briefly their simplification through use of automation. Element 1: Change management policies and procedures Formally documented change management processes and the effective maintenance of them are expected to prevent faulty or damaging change being delivered into Production systems.Reviewing these documented change management processes and checking that th...Fri, 27 Jul 2012 07:07:05 GMTFinally the Tide of Rugged Android Devices Beginshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Finally-the-Tide-of-Rugged-Android-Devices-Begins
In my opinion, Microsoft blew it when they left the rugged mobile device manufacturers hanging for years with no meaningful upgrades or upgrade path to the Windows Mobile 6.5x operating system. They sentenced the ruggedized device industry to compete against the iPhone, iPad and Android consumer devices. This meant service organizations worldwide started considering the merits of switching to consumer devices, with new operating systems that had many more features rather than upgrading to new ruggedized mobile devices. Otterbox and other rugged case manufacturers were definitely the winners of this Microsoft orchestrated industry trend. They produced many great ruggedized cases that added device protection and gave buyers confidence that using consumer devices in rugged environments was worth the risk. Today, however, the tide of rugged Android devices is starting to enter the market as demonstrated by this marketing piece from Honeywell that I received in the mail today announcing...Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:05:03 GMTBiggest Challenges Implementing Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Biggest-Challenges-Implementing-Enterprise-Mobility
I closed the 2012 Mid-Year Enterprise Mobility Survey today after excellent community participation! I want to thank everyone for their time in completing it! I will now start writing up the formal report, but in the mean time I will leak some of the results for you here. One of the survey sections was titled, "What are your biggest challenges to implementing enterprise mobility today?" Here are the some of the results: Finding a budget (for enterprise mobility)? 23% said Not Challenging 53% said Somewhat Challenging 24% said Very Challenging Developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy? 8% said Not Challenging 43% said Somewhat Challenging 49% said Very Challenging Selecting the right mobile platform? 29% said Not Challenging 43% said Somewhat Challenging 28% said Very Challenging Finding qualified mobility experts to assist with implementations? 18% said Not Challenging 45% said Somewhat Challenging 37% said Very Challenging Selecting the right mobile security platform? 29% said...Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:36:09 GMTEnterprise Mobility and the Fog of Warhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Enterprise-Mobility-and-the-Fog-of-War
The term of " Fog of War " means "The uncertainty in situation awareness experienced during operations." It is really hard to manage operations efficiently if you don't know where your people and resources are located. How can you implement your strategy or fulfill your mission without this knowledge? Gaining situational awareness is the key to improving productivity in the field. In the preliminary results of my mid-year enterprise mobility survey, the participants have identified "improved productivity" as the #1 ROI that companies are seeking from enterprise mobility. This would suggest a need for GPS tracking of your workforce, assets and resources and improved situational awareness. I recently read that 90% of the challenges that military commanders have are finding the enemy, and finding their own forces. Knowing the location of your resources enables you to make all kinds of data driven decisions such as: Estimated arrival times Determining what resources are closest to a jo...Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:32:32 GMTAre HANA and Exalytics Messing with the Iron Triangle?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Are-HANA-and-Exalytics-Messing-with-the-Iron-Triangle
When we run across an absolute and unchangeable law of nature, isn&rsquo;t it fascinating to ponder its splendor for a moment and let its simple truth shape our minds. Take gravity; we don&rsquo;t see it or hear it, but we certainly feel it. Without it, where would we be? In a different vein, how about that unequivocal law called the &ldquo;iron triangle&rdquo;? What? You haven&rsquo;t heard of the iron triangle? Well it&rsquo;s been around for centuries and it is as true today as when first discovered. The iron triangle is best understood with an example. Let&rsquo;s say you want to build a new piece of software that will solve world hunger and most likely usher in an era of global peace. Now that you have this phenomenal idea, you can&rsquo;t wait to roll it out and start selling it to nations on all 5 continents. So, to get rolling you take your specs to a great software developer and inform her that you need the production version of this app in your hands fast, it has to be ch...Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:19:28 GMTSAP E-Invoicing OnDemand Customer Insight - Fortune 500 Chemical Company Uses One Provider for all of Latin Americahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/SAP-E-Invoicing-OnDemand-Customer-Insight-Fortune-500-Chemical-Company-Uses-One-Provider-for-all-of
The Company &ndash; Fortune 500 &ndash; Chemicals &ndash; Fragrances & Food Additives The Problem &ndash; The global Chemical company, which specializes in additives that enhance products we all use every day from the grocery story, was dealing with upcoming government compliance in Latin America. Like most large multi-nationals, they operated a consolidated SAP environment. The issue for this company was how to tackle electronic invoicing legislation in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. In the evaluation, executives wanted to find a solution that worked natively with SAP, covered multiple countries, and protected their investment from the ongoing changes that occur all the time in Latin America. They did not want to have constantly changing international legislation affecting their plans and rollout objectives with their centralized SAP system. Multiple options were ultimately evaluated: On Premise Software, Local Vendors in each country (both On Premise and On Demand), and a Latin Am...Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:53:44 GMTTop 5 Lessons Learned from Mobilizing SAP in the Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Top-5-Lessons-Learned-from-Mobilizing-SAP-in-the-Cloud
I am excited to present this article from mobility expert Srini Subramanian. He is the CTO at Unvired and shares his experiences implementing mobility in the cloud in SAP environments with us. Working with SAP customers on the cloud has been a rich learning and myth busting experience in many ways. Contrary to popular belief, a number of SAP customers do have a strong affinity for deploying solutions via the cloud. So what are the insights from our first set of cloud customers? 1. Cloud is relevant and top of the mind for SAP customers Many of them already use other solutions such as Salesforce, Workday, Successfactors, etc. and integrate these SAAS / cloud solutions to their SAP systems in a number of ways. A cloud based delivery of the mobile platform struck a chord with many of the CIO/CTO and IT heads that we spoke to. It is also a known fact that on-premise or hosted data centers running the dedicated SAP instances need to co-exist with the cloud based platforms / solutions. A...Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:24:15 GMTHANA Optimized InfoCubes and the Future of InfoCubeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/HANA-Optimized-InfoCubes-and-the-Future-of-InfoCubes
HANA Optimized InfoCubes The core of the new optional SAP HANA-optimized InfoCube is that when you assign characteristics and/or key figures to dimensions, while the system does not create any dimension tables except for the package dimension. Instead, the master data identifiers (SIDs) are simply written in the fact table and the dimensional keys (DIM IDs) are no longer used, resulting in faster data read execution and data loads. In short, dimensions become logical units instead of physical data tables. The logical concept of 'dimensions' is used only to simplify the query development in BEx Query Designer. It is important to note that since the physical star-schema tables change during the HANA optimization, any custom developed program that access InfoCubes directly instead of going through standard interfaces, will have to be re-written. I.e., companies using ODBC directly at the database level. However, since very few companies have ventured into this area, the optional HANA...Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:06:19 GMTProject bulldogs, accountability & SAP Solution Manager: Yosh Eisbart's advice on tools & resources for your next implementationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Project-bulldogs-accountability-SAP-Solution-Manager-Yosh-Eisbarts-advice-on-tools-resources-for-y
Andrea Haynes, Group Editor of SAPexperts , recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Yosh Eisbart, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of NIMBL LLC , to get his thoughts about what tools and resources you need for your next implementation. Following is a transcript of their conversation. Andrea Haynes: This is Andrea Haynes of SAPexperts . I&rsquo;m speaking today with Yosh Eisbart, Co-Founder and CEO at NIMBL , and author of &ldquo; Outsourcing SAP Operations ,&rdquo; from SAP PRESS . Welcome, Yosh. Yosh Eisbart: Thanks, Andrea, for having me. Andrea: This is the first of a series of interviews we&rsquo;ll be doing on Insider Learning Network on managing vendors and consultants, playing to the strengths of your IT tea m, and developing your IT maturity. Thank you for joining me today. Yosh: Absolutely, looking forward to discussing. Andrea: Let&rsquo;s start with talking about one of the most common vendor accountability issues that you&rsquo;ve seen. Yosh: Sure. Well, one of the ch...Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:53:47 GMTSAP Nota Fiscal Customer Insights - Fortune 200 CPG Avoids Installing Over 200+ OSS Noteshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/SAP-Nota-Fiscal-Customer-Insights-Fortune-200-CPG-Avoids-Installing-Over-200-OSS-Notes
In addition to the country legislation, we are starting a new segment to our Latin American electronic invoicing blog. We are calling these customer insights. We will be covering some of the top "Lessons Learned" from our experience with over 250 Latin American SAP and eInvoicing implementations. This week, I am focusing on the notion that the only way to become compliant is to install OSS notes. There are much easier solutions for multi-nationals. The Company - Fortune 200 CPG (Food & Beverage) multi-national The Problem - This CPG company, much like most large multi-nationals, was moving to a consolidated SAP environment. Meaning that they were consolidating the vast array of legacy systems in multiple countries onto a common platform. The issue for this company was that their centralized SAP system was following a global upgrade path. In comparing their current version of SAP (v4.7b) with the requirements of Brazil, they found that they would have to install over 200+ OSS notes...Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:59:55 GMTSAP HANA: Crash Course in a Hot Topichttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/SAP-HANA-Crash-Course-in-a-Hot-Topic
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Every once in a while there's a topic or technology that takes the SAP world by storm. You're on Twitter. You're on SCN. You're on the Insider Learning Network. There it is. It's everywhere. One week it's being touted as a solution to literally cure cancer and another it's getting birthday wishes from the CTO of SAP in a blog post. It's SAP HANA and it's everywhere these days. And for good reason. Rarely has a single technology brought such optimism and a healthy dose of skepticism (depending on who you ask) from such a wide audience. SAP users, market analysts, consultants, even Larry Ellison -- everyone has an opinion on SAP HANA today. Your job is basically a fact-finding mission right now. You need to find out as much about SAP HANA as you can in the shortest amount of time to determine 1. If HANA is all it's cracked up to be and 2. How this technology can benefit your organization. We can help. Here's a list of some of the offerings that the Insid...Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:15:41 GMTSAP and M2M - An Interesting Developmenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/SAP-and-M2M-An-Interesting-Development
I have noted with interest SAP's increasing focus on M2M (machine to machine) communication. For those not familiar with this area, it involves machines wirelessly reporting their statuses to other machines. I have heard SAP's Co-CEO Jim Snabe speak on wireless sensors and M2M several times. How is M2M used? In the electrical utility industry, many substations and other key pieces of equipment are set-up to automatically report any problems by sending wireless messages (M2M) to a server that is monitoring the system. This provides all kinds of efficiencies by enabling remote managers to monitor large numbers of assets that are spread across large geographical areas. Here are some related articles: M2M and Enterprise Mobility - The Convergence SAP Announces New M2M Initiative M2M, SAP and Enterprise Mobility SAP Enterprise Mobility and the Gathering M2M Storm M2M is forecast to experience massive growth. In fact, it was a central theme of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this...Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:14:50 GMTmHealth and Mobility - Crowd Sourced Healthcarehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/mHealth-and-Mobility-Crowd-Sourced-Healthcare
I wonder sometimes if we Americans wouldn't be better off simply bypassing partisan politics and the healthcare industrial complex, and developing our own crowd-sourced healthcare program that fully utilizes mobile, M2M, cloud and big data technologies and brings them together to offer optimized healthcare services. Perhaps we should join together into technology centric cooperatives and hire our own healthcare providers? Perhaps technology is the answer to this problem. Perhaps we could develop a program where each of us could be matched up with a CHP (cloud-based healthcare provider) that would provide us with smartphone apps and any additional wearable (M2M) devices that would enable him/her to monitor our health and provide guidance in the comfort and efficiency of our own homes. When health issues arise, our CHP would manage our treatment by sending us to local labs and service providers that would perform tests and upload the results to our EHR (electronic health record) for...Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:55:13 GMTSAP eInvoicing OnDemand - Guatemalahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/SAP-eInvoicing-OnDemand-Guatemala
Guatemala&rsquo;s Tax Authority, in August of 2011, passed a bill that introduces amendments to the board resolution number 024-2007 which establishes an optional electronic invoice system &lsquo;FACE&rsquo; for the authorization, issuance and transmission, conservation, storage and control of invoices, credit notes and debit cards via e-mail and the receipt of copies of invoices, credit notes and debit cards issued on paper. By the end of 2012, the largest contributors are required to issue electronic invoices according to the disposition of the Guatemalan Tax Administration. The obligation extends to companies that emit more than 1 million invoices per year. Gradually those companies with between 1501 and 3,000 invoices per year will be incorporated through the end of March 2013. Electronic invoicing in Guatemala is the replacement of paper invoices. The electronic invoice is actually an electronic record that contains information on a business transaction, payment obligations an...Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:30:33 GMTInfographic: C-Suite Execs Agree Big Data is an Opportunity, But Disagree on its Definitionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/Infographic-C-Suite-Execs-Agree-Big-Data-is-an-Opportunity-But-Disagree-on-its-Definition
SAP recently surveyed 154 C-suite executives at international companies across a range of industries and sizes about big data. The results show that three-quarters of execs see the opportunity in big data, but consensus gets a bit blurry from there.Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:44:03 GMTNew features in 7.3: DB support & BW Workspaceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/July/New-features-in-7-dot-3-DB-support-BW-Workspaces
Editor's note: A few weeks back, Dr. Berg spoke with SAPexperts editor Scott Wallask ( @BI_ScottWIS ) on upgrades to BW 7.3. You can listen to that podcast here . Today's post adds to Berg's 7.3 upgrade advice, highlighting some of those newer features in 7.3 for both BW teams - and even for business users. 7.3 - From database agnostic to database support Previously, SAP BW was database &lsquo;agonistic&rsquo; and as a result, did not always take full advantage of database features used by the clients. This has changed somewhat in BW 7.3. Now there is new support for database features for Teradata and DB2 - great news for those using Teradata and DB2. For example, 7.3 can now run on top of the Teradata database and you have the ability to use BW-Accelerator on-top of Teradata. You can also use the SAP&rsquo;s system to manage transports between your BW environments. For DB2, 7.3 supports specific database features such as PSA, DSO and fact table compressions for reduced disk volume...Tue, 03 Jul 2012 03:15:49 GMTEarly Adopter Surgutneftegas Takes SAP HANA for a Test Drivehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2012/July/Early-Adopter-Surgutneftegas-Takes-SAP-HANA-For-A-Test-Drive
Surgutneftegas’ IT department, which is always seeking out innovative new technologies, underwent a proof of concept for a pilot implementation of SAP HANA — and the benefits were a welcome surprise. CIO Rinat Gimranov shares how even though the functionality is not yet in production for commercial operation, the advantages stemming from real-time analytics and reporting are already apparent.Sun, 01 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Kony Solutions' Jay Bopa Raihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Kony-Solutions-Jay-Bopa-Rai
A couple of weeks ago while teaching mobile strategies in the London area I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss enterprise mobility with Kony Solution's Director of Technical Services EMEA, Jay Bopa Rai. In this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series , Jay shares the trends he sees in the European enterprise mobility market today. Remember, all past videos are archived for easy reference here . Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:51:55 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Oliver Kaluschahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Oliver-Kaluscha
I met with Oliver Kaluscha, CEO/Founder of Placeworkers while I was working in London a couple of weeks ago. Placeworkers is a Germany based company focused on the SAP and other ERP mobility markets. Oliver has a great deal of real world SAP mobility experience, and he was kind enough to share some of his advice and experiences with us in this segment of Mobile Expert Video Series. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:20:43 GMTMobile Expert Podcast Series: Antenna Software's Mark Watsonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Podcast-Series-Antenna-Softwares-Mark-Watson
Last week I had the good fortune of being able to meet with Antenna Software's EVP of Technology and Engineering, Mark Watson just outside of London and interview him about mobility. In this 17 minute podcast Mark shares his thoughts on enterprise mobility, HTML5, mobile strategies and the mobile trends. I think you will find it valuable. Podcasts are not as easy as they might appear, so I have provided both a download link to the podcast, and if you have the right plugins, it will also be available embedded in this article. Here is the podcast link - www.box.com/s/6059e51793acda014a33 ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I w...Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:10:53 GMTBW 7.3 features for faster data loadshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/BW-7-dot-3-features-for-faster-data-loads
One of the quantum leaps for BW 7.3 release is in its data load features. To start, there are several new data load options in 7.3. Now you can create generic delta extraction for the Universal Data (UD) & Database Connect (DB) options, as well as for flat files. You can also use the new DataSource adapter &ldquo;Web Service Pull&rdquo; to load data from external web services. You can even create generic WebServices delta loads, and load the new data straight into the staging area of BW 7.3. Here are just a few other new features to help you improve data load: 7.3 Data Activation features: In 7.0, during activation BW had to lookup in the NIRV table to see if the object already exists. This could be a slow process. We had some basic tools to assist us in tuning this. We could buffer the number ranges to compare the data load with records in-memory to speed up data activation. However, in BW 7.3 the data activation is changed from single lookups to package fetch of the active table,...Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:50:13 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Chris Willis, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Chris-Willis-Part-1
I had the privilege of interviewing Chris Willis, Chief Marketing Officer of Verivo recently in beautiful Waltham, MA. We explored his thoughts on what makes Verivo unique in the market, HTML5, enterprise mobility trends and mobile strategies. I hope you find these interview series useful! Watch the video here . Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview with Chris Willis. ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my artic les.Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:47:01 GMTEggs with Benedict Mobile Strategies Workshop in Londonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Eggs-with-Benedict-Mobile-Strategies-Workshop-in-London
I had the honor of presenting a mobile strategies workshop (Eggs with Benedict) yesterday in Convent Garden's Hospital Club in central London. The Hospital Club is a high tech and digital media gathering spot that was perfect. The interior was very chic with couches and over-stuffed chairs, funky lighting and a lounge inside. Attendees traveled from all parts of England, and we had some even fly in from other parts of Europe for the workshop. I was told by a group of attendees following the workshop that it was valuable and useful. I even had requests to return and present another series of workshops. It is my observation, backed by solid research, that companies are struggling with developing an enterprise-wide mobile strategy. Sometimes the IT department is the laggard, but most often I believe the business is the laggard. Mobile technologies can truly transform a company. It can change business models, and revolutionize industries. The business must understand how they will resp...Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:39:27 GMTPodcast: Bristol-Myers Squibb Completes Longtime ERP Consolidation Projecthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/June/Podcast-Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Completes-Longtime-ERP-Consolidation-Project
Bristol-Myers Squibb began using SAP in 1996 and has been gradually working to move all of its businesses onto SAP. In this insiderPROFILES exclusive podcast, Michael DiNovi, Director of Application Services at BMS, explains how the company completed its third phase and achieved that goal this year. To read more about Bristol Myers Squibb read How a Global Biopharmaceutical Leader Relies on SAP Enterprise Support to Reduce Risk and Improve Visibility Bristol-Myers Squibb began using SAP in 1996 and has been gradually working to move all of its businesses onto SAP. In this insiderPROFILES exclusive podcast, Michael DiNovi, Director of Application Services at BMS, explains how the company completed its third phase and achieved that goal this year. To read more about Bristol Myers Squibb read How a Global Biopharmaceutical Leader Relies on SAP Enterprise Support to Reduce Risk and Improve VisibilityWed, 20 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Adam Enterkinhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Adam-Enterkin
On the Northeast corner of Hyde Park in London, England in Kony Solution's UK office. While I was in London last week I caught up with Kony Solution's VP of Sales for EMEA, Adam Enterkin and asked him about his strategies and Kony Solution's business model. I hope you find this interview interesting. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:46:28 GMTBig Data Can Provide Answers to Your Questions ... If You Know What Your Questions Arehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Big-Data-Can-Provide-Answers-to-Your-Questions-dot-dot-dot-If-You-Know-What-Your-Questions-Are
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I was having a chat with my three good friends Zooey, John, and Samuel L the other day and we all agreed the best thing about Apple's Siri is that it doesn't dispense advice on its own without you asking. Instead it provides you answers to specific questions. Like Zooey wanted to know where she could get soup delivered from--she's sooooo lazy--and Siri told her. And it got me thinking about the value of big data and real-time analytics (that's when Zooey and John left the room--Samuel L will talk about anything though) and how when used correctly, a big data solution should answer questions. The conversation went something like this: Dave: "I think some companies feel like you can just plug in SAP HANA or Hadoop and it will instantly start spitting out new business efficiencies for you. Like a magic eight ball." Samuel L: "You know I was just thinking that the other day while making my gazpacho. Like the big data gods will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy.." And that's when I left the room because 1. I hate it when Samuel L does that and 2. I had to go pick up Zooey's soup because she doesn't own a rain coat and the only place that delivers was flooded. Apparently Siri didn't know that. As I was waiting in the deli for the soup, though, I read a column on the Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal page , where Bill Abott and Chris Curran of PwC phrased it this way: "The key to turning informational 'ore' into insightful gold is posing intelligent questions and formulating hypotheses, then digging for answers to prove or disprove theories ... We need to ask the right questions about the business before prematurely plunging into the data." That's it. It's exactly what I was trying to articulate to Samuel L before he started on his rant. But for me, having a real-world example always helps so I wanted to find out what kind of question a business might ask that data could solve. I was going to call John and ask him, but his questions in general are always very existential and, frankly, a little creepy sometimes. Instead, I poked around on the WSJ site a bit more and found a good example of a company that had a specific question to ask. Retail giant Sears needs to know what is the optimal price to charge for its products. All of them. And as Rachael King of WSJ's CIO Report describes, that basically amounts to a continuing game of trial-and-error. Set a price for a product, see how it sells, analyze that data, adjust if necessary, repeat. "Because of the cost and the time involved in processing data on mainframes, it took Sears about eight weeks to run its price elasticity algorithms to find the right price for items. The retailer could only use about 10% of the data it collected because using more would have taken more time and cost more money." With a specific question--how can we speed up the analysis of our pricing strategies--Sears successfully implemented a big data solution and started getting answers. So they're out there! Companies asking questions that can be answered by big data. In fact, sitting in the deli thinking about it more, I remembered a recent insiderPROFILES story we did that provided another great example. Chipmaker NVIDIA had a specific question to answer as it transitioned 40-nanometer manufacturing technology for its products: How much of the new product would NVIDIA&rsquo;s customers want, and how much of the existing sizes should the company continue to make? And how long would it take its customers to fully transition? NVIDIA found the answer by building a customized interface on top of SAP APO for the new inventory forecasting solution, using SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence. You can read about it here . Wow, I was really onto something here. In fact, I soon realized that my pals at the new site Data Informed had some similar examples of companies using big data to answer specific questions. In describing Hilti's presentation on SAP HANA at SAPPHIRE NOW, Michael Goldberg writes "By implementing HANA, Hilti is hoping to analyze some old questions and add layers of analytics to fashion entirely new insights. In one important case so far, it has succeeded in analyzing data in new ways: the company can detect historically, and simulate future actions, for changes in pricing and product mix on customer behavior and sales." Boy that sounds similar to what Sears is doing. I was really nailing it now. Unfortunately, I got so engrossed in my own thoughts, I had lost track of time. And by the time I delivered Zooey her soup, it was cold. And on a rainy day, Zooey can be a bit cranky. The conversation went something like this: Zooey: "I've been dancing up a storm here and you bring me cold soup? Seriously? What am I supposed to do with this?" Samuel L: "I'll have it. I love gazpacho!" Dave: "Maybe you can ask Siri how to put a pot on the stove and pour soup into it?" Zooey: "Put a what on a what?" What I asked next isn't really important. But what IS important is the lesson you can learn from some of these examples: if you're like a lot of companies and thinking about what you need to do before implementing a new big data solution (and that includes SAP HANA) you need to know your implementation strategy and technology requirements and all that stuff. But you also need to have your list of "questions" ready. In other words, you should have some specific business challenges in mind when you implement to expedite the ROI and show business value. I'm off to the doctor to get a check up on my orbital fracture. Zooey might not know how to heat up soup, but she does have an "answer" for smart aleck questions that explains why she keeps that sauce pan around.Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:36:31 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Alec Berry, Part 2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Alec-Berry-Part-2
This is Part 2 of my interview with mobility expert Alec Berry, Director of Professional Services with ClickSoftware . You can listen to Part 1 here . In this segment Alec talks about best practices for professional services, and how to successfully deliver mobile projects. He covers mobile project kick-offs, change management, network connectivity, selecting the right mobile devices and keeping it real. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Week ly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:04:39 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Alec Berry, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Alec-Berry-Part-1
I met Alec Berry, Director of Professional Services with ClickSoftware , just outside of London this week for an interview. I enjoy interviewing mobile experts that are in the professional services arena as they usually have the best stories and advice as a result of implementing mobile solutions with many different companies. In part 1 of this interview we discuss the latest mobility trends, mobile and scheduling challenges when working with contractors. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with an d have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:05:44 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Verivo's Marc Rosenbaumhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Verivos-Marc-Rosenbaum
What value does HTML5 bring to a mobile platform vendor that says they already support cross-platform development? How does HTML5 integrate with native apps to form hybrid apps? These are the kinds of questions I ask Verivo's mobility expert Marc Rosenbaum in this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series. I hope you find this segment useful. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* div /divThu, 14 Jun 2012 15:34:22 GMTMexico eInvoicing - Why Inbound Validation Should Not be Overlookedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mexico-eInvoicing-Why-Inbound-Validation-Should-Not-be-Overlooked
One of the top questions that comes up in virtually every Mexico e-Invoicing meeting is: Do I really need to do the inbound validation of invoices? Many companies think that they don't have to do the inbound validations; however, this oversight can lead to jail time and heavy fines. There are two realities in Mexico CFDI for inbound invoices: Validation is not required technically in the current articles However, the only way to ensure you pay your taxes correctly and avoid committing fiscal fraud is through validation So it is not a technical enforcement that should be driving decisions. Instead it should be a fiscal decision. In Mexico, you pay taxes to the government based on the net difference (i.e. the tax you charge your customers minus the tax that you pay your suppliers). If you are deducting these tax payments on your fiscal books, then not validating every single inbound invoice is just lighting the fuse of a "audit bomb" and then throwing acclerant onto the flame. We hav...Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:40:58 GMT3D Maps and the Real World of Mobile Workershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/3D-Maps-and-the-Real-World-of-Mobile-Workers
I read yesterday about Apple dumping Google Maps and making a big investment in their own 3D mapping technology solution. I was interested specifically in the 3D aspect of Apple's announced mapping solution. Since the real world is in 3D, the more 3D the better. A few years ago I worked on several mobile software projects with a facilities management company. These projects were very interesting as they involved 3D considerations. Facility managers need to know things like location and count of electrical outlets, light fixtures, heaters, network cables and remodeling projects that are not included in the original plans. Why? It is their job to assess, maintain and repair the facilities and keep them compliant with local regulations and fire codes, so they must know what they are working on. In some cases, facilities management company will bring into a room 3D laser scanning technology that will scan the room and completely map out its interior. These 3D representations are then a...Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:41:39 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Andre Guilleminhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Andre-Guillemin
Andre Guillemin recently returned from Australia where he conducted a series of workshops on mobile application design for enterprise apps. I caught up with him in Boston last week, enjoyed some great Indian food (Chicken Biryani), and convinced him to share some of his insights with you. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:05:02 GMTHANA Seminar Teaser #1: Planning steps for implementing SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/HANA-Seminar-Teaser-1-Planning-steps-for-implementing-SAP-HANA
By Molly Folan The 1st of this teaser series is from the session &ldquo;SAP HANA is moving in! Are your technical landscape and data ready?&rdquo; which will be presented by Doug Janes from @HP at the @SAPinsider #HANAseminar, kicking off in Chicago July 25-27, 2012. It&rsquo;s not that SAP HANA is not scalable; it just requires a different sizing approach than traditional database management systems. Several things need to be considered before implementing SAP HANA, such as the impact on network infrastructures. Another critical factor that must be addressed is selecting the appropriate system based on considerations for future growth, high availability, and disaster recovery capabilities. This is only the beginning of a long list of requirements, precautions, and best practices (offered in the session) to help ensure optimal scalability and performance, but it&rsquo;s a good starting point and worth keeping in your back pocket if thinking about an SAP HANA implementation. Key con...Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:27:49 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Gil Bouhnickhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Gil-Bouhnick
I love interviewing Gil. He is an enterprise mobility product manager for ClickSoftware who is focused on field services and gets involved in both the conceptual and the real. He works with many end customers and develops real-world solutions that work in challenging environments. Because of all of this, he is always an entertaining and enlightening person to interview. In this segment, he discusses mobile app stores and their increasing value to the enterprise. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:03:55 GMTWell played, Big Data, well played…http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Well-played-Big-Data-well-played
By Molly Folan, Conference Producer There&rsquo;s no denying that I&rsquo;m a complete sucker when it comes to shopping. It can be for anything, regardless of logic or any type of need for it. I can quickly justify it via the furthest stretch of imagination. (What if I get a flat tire, my spare tire goes missing, my AAA membership just expired, and I&rsquo;m stranded on the side of the highway, alone. I should definitely get a spare, spare tire. Can never have too many back up tires. Nah, I should probably just go ahead and get a new car&hellip;better safe than sorry.) My lack of retail resistance considered, the last thing I (or, my wallet for that matter) need is increased temptation while perusing a department store. Enter Big Data. I went to a local department store last week to purchase new sheets for my daughter&rsquo;s bed. I came home with $300 worth of &ldquo;crap&rdquo; for myself as my husband called it. The best (or worst, depending on who the story teller is) part is t...Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:24:55 GMTBYOD Benchmark: Where Do You Stand?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/BYOD-Benchmark-Where-Do-You-Stand
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs It was an odd feeling. I don't remember the exact date but I remember the moment I first gave my personal cell phone number to a work contact. It was in the days when a few select executives were getting corporate Blackberries, but for the rest of us, mobile phones were still a personal choice. I had one and was arranging a meeting at a conference and my contact asked "what's your cell number?" I paused. I wasn't sure how to respond. To me at that time, it was equivalent to someone asking for my home phone number or my personal email address. There was a line being crossed. Today, that line is so blurry, it pretty much doesn't exist to many workers. It seems funny to even think about. The list of contacts on my iPhone is a mix of personal and professional contacts and, frankly, it still feels a bit "odd" to see the name of a relatively new work contact just below the nickname I gave my friend in the fifth grade. But that's the world we live in today. L...Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:12:36 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Uri Pintovhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Uri-Pintov
I recorded this interview a few weeks ago in Spain with ClickSoftware's Uri Pintov. In this segment Uri discusses enterprise app stores and their value, the future of Microsoft mobility, mobile business views, HTML5 and more. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:10:14 GMTManaging Change in a Release Management Environment - Part IV of IV (Technology)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Managing-Change-in-a-Release-Management-Environment-Part-IV-of-IV-Technology
Last month we introduced and discussed several critical success factors in ensuring success of the N+1 architecture. This month we discuss the value change control software technology can provide in managing change by releases including managing change across N and N+1 SAP landscapes. Costs and risks: Key elements of change The costs and risks associated with managing change are directly proportional to three key elements of change and as each element increases, so do the associated costs and risks. These key elements include: The volume of change being managed, The complexity of the processes being used to manage the change (including landscape complexity), and The degree of control required over each change When an organisation moves to a formal change release program, often as a result of increasing volumes of change, it is quite normal for the complexity of process and the degree of control to automatically increase. Complexity due to there being a need to separate and manage i...Wed, 06 Jun 2012 01:11:38 GMTSAP Advanced Delivery Management - A New Approachhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/SAP-Advanced-Delivery-Management-A-New-Approach
Don't Miss the SAP Services Webcast On SAP Advanced Delivery Management (ADM) and Learn from the SAP Consulting Experts Discover the New Implementation Approach and How to Get Started in Your SAP Environment Introducing SAP Advanced Delivery Management: The New Way of Implementing SAP Solutions An SAP Services Webcast on Tuesday 6-12-12 at 1 PM EST See how SAP&acute;s new delivery approach, the SAP Advanced Delivery Management initiative, enhances and expands upon the existing SAP Rapid Deployment solutions philosophy. It provides an assembled-to-order/engineered-to-order implementation that includes a lean assembled methodology based on the ASAP methodology, prepackaged implementation content, and lean implementation technology. Join the experts from the SAP Services organization for this informative Webcast and find the answers to your critical questions: Discover how to leverage these innovative new delivery approaches to enable faster time to value, and hear about emerging best...Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:22:19 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: IDC Research's Nicholas McQuirehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/June/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-IDC-Researchs-Nicholas-McQuire
In this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series, I got the opportunity to interview IDC Research's Nicholas McQuire in Rotterdam at the Enterprise Mobility Exchange. He is one of my favorite speakers and interviewees. In this video we dig deep into how multinational corporations support a BYOD (bring your own device) strategy. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 04 Jun 2012 21:25:26 GMTSAP Nota Fiscal - MIRO/MIGO Process Enhancementshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAP-Nota-Fiscal-MIROMIGO-Process-Enhancements
Often in this blog on Latin America, we discuss the mandates and what companies have to do in order to stay in compliance and avoid fines. However, there are benefits to the Latin American model for corporations, not just governments. Process efficiency around the MIRO/MIGO processes in SAP is always a conversation that comes about during discussions of inbound processing. This process flow is often unique to organizations who have specific terminology or business practices; however, country e-Invoicing legislation, especially in Brazil and Mexico open up new possibilities that could not have been acheived previously. The standardization of the invoice format by the government in Brazil is the key to the rise of this opportunity. Because the Brazilian government decided to add the PO number and line item information to the invoice, organizations have a unique possibility to accelerate and simplify their MIRO/MIGO processing. Remember, that all of your suppliers must make the XML av...Wed, 30 May 2012 15:03:58 GMTM2M, SAP and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/M2M-SAP-and-Enterprise-Mobility
I had an interesting call with the team at DSI Online this week. They are a veteran enterprise mobility company, that integrates with Oracle and SAP, and they are also big into M2M (machine to machine) communication. Any company involved in plant maintenance, enterprise asset management and utilities would benefit from being able to remotely communicate with machines in distant locations and monitor their operations for maintenance and repair requirements. This week I also learned a new M2M related acronym, MBAN (mobile body area networks). This is the acronym for wireless sensors that can remotely report on the health of the patient wearing them. In a presentation by SAP's Mobility team in Rotterdam that I attended this week, they showed a slide that said Health Monitoring is going to be one of their mobile priorities. Can you see the trend toward convergence of M2M and enterprise mobility? According to recent studies by the FCC as reported by The Wall Street Journal in an article...Mon, 28 May 2012 23:18:21 GMTAndreas Engel on SAP's Enterprise Content Management Offeringshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/May/Andreas-Engel-On-SAPs-Enterprise-Content-Management-Offerings
I spoke with EIM expert Andreas Engel about SAP's enterprise content management functionality in this latest installment in our EIM series of podcasts. Andreas is one of the co-authors of the SAP PRESS book Enterprise Information Management with SAP. If you have questions on this topic, join some of the book's authors in an online Q&A on Wednesday, June 13 at 12:30 ET, here on Insider Learning Network. Watch for more details in the IT Forum (http://insiderlearningnetwork.com/go/forum/viewboard).Fri, 25 May 2012 12:47:46 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of May 20, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-May-20-2012
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. div /divThu, 24 May 2012 15:12:33 GMTDelivery Model vs. Functionality: Have We Gone Cloud Crazy?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Delivery-Model-vs-dot-Functionality-Have-We-Gone-Cloud-Crazy
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs SAP's announcement this week that it plans to buy Ariba was very interesting to me on a couple levels. For starters, having covered the procurement function and technology closely for a long time, I traced Ariba's growth from its earliest days as an online catalog vendor through its jump into reverse auctions with the FreeMarkets buy and onward. And the more Ariba grew and became the dominant procurement software vendor, the more speculation swirled about which megavendor would gobble them up. So to see that answer finally emerge is very interesting to me (although I've learned to never say "final" when it comes to acquisitions -- at least until the ink dries). But what I find even more interesting about this acquisition is the dramatic emphasis on "cloud" and the lack of emphasis on functionality. For example, SAP's press release announcing the deal uses the headline "SAP to Expand Cloud Presence with Acquisition of Ariba." Further, the release uses t...Thu, 24 May 2012 15:03:03 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW 2012 Wrapuphttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-2012-Wrapup
Kristine Erickson, Editor, Insider Learning Network Still catching up, and catching your breath, after all the dizzying talk at SAPPPHIRE NOW of cloud, HANA, mobility, reporting, and social media? Or did you hear about the buzz around some particularly dramatic, celebrity studded keynotes ? With so much to dig into, what are your lingering questions on SAP strategy, & where are you evaluating your next technology move? Catch up on SAPPHIRE NOW 2012. Not only can you watch replays of any keynotes you missed but here is a quick list of our team's highlights, including reports from the keynotes & daily wrapups: SAPPHIRE NOW brings the star power &ndash; Keynote wrapup SAPPHIRE NOW Day 1 and Day 2 observations SAPPHIRE NOW Day 3: HANA and more HANA AT SAPPHIRE, SAP tries to turn back the clock Notes from SAPPHIRE NOW: Customer questions about HANA And here's some pre-conference coverage - starting before the Van Halen announcement: Talkin&rsquo; bout fraud &ndash; and SAPPHIRE NOW &nda...Thu, 24 May 2012 05:08:20 GMTObservations from the Enterprise Mobility Exchange in Rotterdamhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Observations-from-the-Enterprise-Mobility-Exchange-in-Rotterdam
I enjoy the enterprise mobility exchange events. This is my third time being the chairman at these events, and I keep coming back because I learn a great deal. It is an event dominated by end users, rather than vendors. I have nothing against vendors, as they sponsor the events and lead some sessions, but the event is organized to give end users an opportunity to discuss their needs, network and learn from other end users and their experiences. In addition to the keynote presentations, there are case studies, think tanks and a CIO session. The CIO session was very interesting. CIOs bring a list of topics important to them and submit this list to the other CIOs for discussion. The subjects are all related to enterprise mobility in the real world and addressing the challenges that come along with it. I learned. I saw several celebrity sightings yesterday including Nicolas McQuire, Research Director, IDC Research and Daniel Faulk, SAP Mobility Product Manager. Today we hear from Coco...Tue, 22 May 2012 14:29:42 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Day 3: Dance the Day Away with HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Day-3-Dance-the-Day-Away-with-HANA
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Day one of SAPPHIRE NOW brought the star power . Day two brought Lars and the clouds (literally and figuratively) to Orlando. And day three was HANA's time to rock out. The final day kicked off with the always anticipated keynote from SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner, who put on his professorial cap and provided an academic look (complete with blackboard-style font on his minimalist slides) at the current and future state of SAP HANA. Rather than try to review everything Plattner said (who am I kidding, right?) I'll just brain dump a few of the more intriguing quotes I jotted down during his portion of the keynote: "We should open an SAP store. I don't know what we'd do there." "I'll leave this slide up to resonate with the folks in Redwood Shores." "SQL is not dead. If you pull SQL out of the enterprise, everything shuts down." "We are feverishly working on the [SAP Business] Suite to get it ready for HANA." Plattner's portion of the keynote included a d...Fri, 18 May 2012 14:19:22 GMTWhere Are You in the Race Toward BYOD?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Where-Are-You-in-the-Race-Toward-BYOD
by Amanda McKeon The term &ldquo;consumerization of IT&rdquo; seems to be overused at this point, but it is by no means something that can be ignored or pushed aside for later contemplation. The newest technology gives employees around the world opportunities like the ability to telecommute as well as faster and easier access to business networks from personal devices. Enterprises need to act now when it comes to mobilizing their businesses, including determining whether a BYOD (bring your own device) methodology is a feasible option. Several surveys have been taken in recent months to see how enterprises are dealing with consumerization of IT and the results may surprise you. For example, a survey based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews completed by Robert Half Technology found that 67% of CIOs responded &ldquo;no&rdquo; when asked if they &ldquo;allow employees access to corporate networks via personal laptops, smartphones, or tablets?" Among the 33% that do encourage perso...Thu, 17 May 2012 19:47:08 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Day 2: C-Speak Takes Overhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Day-2-C-Speak-Takes-Over
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Where day one was the time for star power, the second day of SAPPHIRE NOW brought a lot more product talk from the big brass at SAP. And attendees I talked to couldn't get enough of it. The keynote from co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe got rave reviews on Twitter for both its content and tone. It started off with a video nod to SAP's history (with some great comments from insiderPROFILES columnist Josh Greenbaum). "Professor Snabe" even brought in some visual aids for the history lesson, including an HP35 calculator and a musical greeting card. Snabe even joked that SAP bought Success Factors as a 40th birthday/midlife crisis present to itself (not sure what that makes Lars?). Snabe made some bold predictions in the keynote: in five years, all computing will be mobile, all software will be cloud and all data will be in-memory. The next portion of the keynote moved into a talk-show format (which I dubbed "Morning Jim") where he spoke with the executive directo...Tue, 15 May 2012 23:08:19 GMTAt Sapphire, SAP tries to turn the clock backhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/At-Sapphire-SAP-tries-to-turn-the-clock-back
By Scott Wallask , SAPexperts It is sure clear from this 41-year-old&rsquo;s perch that SAP and its partners are taking certain steps to appeal to the next generation of developers and business analysts. So much of the Sapphire Now show in Orlando this week screams &ldquo;Young!&rdquo; For example: The music played before the keynotes included many modern tunes. Sure, as my colleague Dave Hannon mentioned on Twitter , I was getting my lighter out for Boston&rsquo;s &ldquo;More Than a Feeling&rdquo; but that song got morphed into other music by artists such as the Black Eyed Peas in what amounted to the ultimate sampler before SAP Co-CEO Bill McDermott took the stage. Lars Dalgaard , an SAP board member and head of SAP&rsquo;s SuccessFactors cloud provider, stormed onto the keynote stage with an energetic charisma that is going to give the older SAP execs more gray hair. Dalgaard is a fun, entertaining speaker. Sure, there are still attractive young ladies helping to staff the vendo...Tue, 15 May 2012 21:42:50 GMTTip: Troubleshooting Performance Bottlenecks in BPChttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Tip-Troubleshooting-Performance-Bottlenecks-in-BPC
Tips on troubleshooting performance bottlenecks in BPC: Managing MDX statements This tip is from Chris Houlder&rsquo;s presentation at the upcoming BPC Bootcamp in Singapore next week, May 22-24, &ldquo;Building and Troubleshooting a Scalable, High-Performing BPC Landscape.&rdquo; This session includes checklist of performance bottlenecks on BPC, including he usual offenders -- active concurrent users in the system, hardware limitations, size of master data, and data volume in cubes -- plus overly complex areas such as: Complexity of hierarchies Levels within a hierarchy The more the levels, the longer it will take to roll up as rollups are done on the fly Number of alternate hierarchy: Common example: Entity dimension, where businesses would require one grouping for Legal Reporting and the others for Segmental Reporting Complexity of report or input form design Reports expanding on multiple data region sets across columns (time and category) at parent level Input templates with em...Tue, 15 May 2012 17:43:16 GMTSAP's Mobility Vision - Any Way You Want Ithttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAPs-Mobility-Vision-Any-Way-You-Want-It
When you first look at the list of mobility vendors that are attending SAPPHIRENOW 2012, it may seem like most of them compete with SAP mobility, but that would be to forget that SAP sells ERP software. Look at where SAP makes their money. They make their money selling and maintaining large enterprise software implementations that run companies. Mobility is an enabler. Mobility extends and adds value to these large SAP users. Those are important points to understand. In a way, I think SAP's mobile strategy can be defined as, "I don't care." I don't care what mobile software you use as long as it adds users and value. If more users can access SAP through a third-party mobile solution, and SAP receives more user fees, then all is well. Yes, they have spent billions of dollars on mobile middleware, tools, infrastructure and mobile applications (e.g. Sybase and Syclo ), but that was, I believe, to ignite a now explosive enterprise mobility marketplace. They needed to kick-start the mar...Tue, 15 May 2012 16:03:43 GMTSAP eInvoicing - Top 3 Latin American Lessons Learnedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAP-eInvoicing-Top-3-Latin-American-Lessons-Learned
Over the last 5 years, I have had the fortune to learn from hundreds of SAP implementations in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Below are the top 3 lessons learned from the engagements I have seen and that you should take into consideration for your SAP projects. SAP configuration is always underestimated -- Many of these countries, especially Brazil, have some of the most complex tax requirements in the world, if not the most complex. In about 50% of the engagements, we see that either the budget or the timeline is underestimated. Solution: Look for pre-configured SAP Rapid Deployment Templates. These not only simplify your configurations, but can buffer your SAP system against ongoing changes caused by your upgrade cycles or the government changes. Local country selection process when running a centralized or regional instance of SAP -- many times these decisions are made at the local level for solutions, but unlike European eInvoicing, Latin America WILL AFFECT your SAP configurati...Tue, 15 May 2012 15:11:19 GMT#SAPPHIRENOW 2012: Day 1 Observationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAPPHIRENOW-2012-Day-1-Observations
by Lucy Swedberg, Sr. Director, SAPinsider and insiderPROFILES Describing the SAPPHIRE experience to someone who'd never attended the event before, a colleague of mine used the image of a kayaker just about to plunge into the raging rapids. You're not quite sure where the river will take you or what adventures you'll have along the way, but you know the ride will be exhilirating. I couldn't have come up with a better analogy for my Day 1 experience at SAPPHIRE NOW here in Orlando. The best I can do is share a few observations: 1. The layout of the SAPPHIRE show floor cleanly matches the strategic vision SAP's touting here at the show: The campus markers of Mobile, Cloud, HANA, Analytics, and Run Better are impossible to miss. 2. Today's keynotes weren't packed with product announcements or technical roadmap information; rather, Day 1's messages were all about business transformation, the speed of change, social/mobile/collaboration, and changing customer expectations -- all setting...Tue, 15 May 2012 03:43:15 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Brings the Star Powerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Brings-the-Star-Power
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Well if you were looking for star power at this year's SAPPHIRENOW and ASUG conference, you got it. The morning ASUG keynote had a "super hero" theme and highlighted the benefits of ASUG (including a nice shout out to ASUG News and its blogging!) from outgoing chairman Anthony Bosco, incoming chair Mike Stuko of DuPont and CEO Bridgette Chambers. But as much "star power" as that lineup brought, I'm sure they'd all admit they were upstaged by the featured speaker, Lance Armstrong. "I've never thought I'd be opening up for Van Halen" Armstrong joked as he took the stage. After presenting his own "case study" about successful cancer treatment in great detail (I'll never carve a pumpkin again), Armstrong left us all with a great message of human service, which was refreshing in this environment. "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth," he said. That one's going to stick with me a while. From there, it was a whirlwind of sessions...Mon, 14 May 2012 21:55:00 GMTGetting real with SAP HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Getting-real-with-SAP-HANA
by Graceanne Bowe, Senior Director, SAPinsider SAPPHIRE NOW 2012 is in full swing down in Orlando, and it&rsquo;s no surprise that big data---namely, SAP HANA&mdash;is one of the hottest topic. Customers are currently standing three-deep in line at the SAP HANA pavilion, hoping to get some face time with the technology experts. And educational sessions delivered by customers who have taken the HANA plunge are overflowing, without an extra seat to be had. It&rsquo;s becoming clear, as one of the keynote speakers observed this morning, that customers have moved beyond fascination with the promise of SAP HANA and are hungry to know what it takes to make it real in their organizations. Some of the key questions customers are asking: How do I make SAP HANA work in my business, and what&rsquo;s the payoff? How do I build a business case? SAP HANA is complicated software&mdash;how do I set it up and get my landscape ready? How do I train up my technical and business teams? What does SAP H...Mon, 14 May 2012 19:48:47 GMTA Look at The SAP HANA Hardware: Our Install is Completehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/A-Look-at-The-SAP-HANA-Hardware-Our-Install-is-Complete
As I mentioned in my last blog, Penny Silva and I are working with IBM Labs, ComeritLabs and SAP press on developing a new text book for HANA. In the process we are building a complete HANA system with the latest components. In our second week, the HANA system is now installed and we have started implementing the SAP BW on HANA solution (yes, we did it really that fast). However, there are quite a bit of hardware involved. So, in this blog I will show you some pictures of the many components. By Dr. Berg The HANA Hardware In our development system at the lab we have installed IBM&rsquo;s high-end x3950 X5 server for HANA. This is a massive 4U rack-mounting server (4U = 7 inches high) that weights 70.5 lbs. Inside we have 256 GB main memory in 2 memory banks installed, however, this is expandable to 512 GB with all 4 memory banks filled (the HANA DB resides here). For disk space (yes, HANA has disk space for the database failover and boot), this is stored on a GPFS file system. For...Sun, 13 May 2012 19:33:00 GMTGet Prepared for SAPPHIRE NOW with Insider Knowledgehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Get-Prepared-for-SAPPHIRE-NOW-with-Insider-Knowledge
By Amanda McKeon SAPPHIRE NOW , the world&rsquo;s largest SAP user conference, is set to kick off next week in Orlando, Florida along with the ASUG Annual Conference , allowing SAP customers the advantage of attending both events in one location. The combined conference is a plethora of knowledge with over 600 ASUG member-driven sessions, nearly 260 exhibitors, and countless demonstrations. With all of these resources available, how will you know where to begin? Avoid being overwhelmed with help from the SAPinsider and insiderPROFILES April-June 2012 magazines. Go into SAPPHIRE NOW&rsquo;s 5 Learning Campuses (Analytics, Cloud, Database and Technology, Mobile, and Run Better) with knowledge that will help you ask the right questions about the most important topics. For example, SAPinsider&rsquo;s Cloud Applications Special Report, &ldquo; The Cloud Holds the Key: SAP and SuccessFactors Accelerate Innovation for Customers ,&rdquo; explains how SAP, with the help of the recently acqu...Thu, 10 May 2012 13:44:50 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Harish Rau, Part 2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Harish-Rau-Part-2
This is Part 2 in this series with Element Five Solutions' Harish Rau. In this segment, he shares advice and lessons learned during implementations of the Sybase Unwired Platform. He is a true enterprise mobility expert. By that I mean, he has been down the path and lived to share his experiences with you and I. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 10 May 2012 12:34:05 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of May 6, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-May-6-2012
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly Also read Mobile Health News Weekly Apple is in roughly the same position it was last quarter, with an 8.8 percent share of the market in terms of units shipped (according to IDC) and a share of profits (according to Dediu) down two percentage points to 73 percent. Read Original Content comScore announced the U.S. launch of Mobile Metrix 2.0. Mobile Metrix 2.0 brings comScore's Unified Digital Measurement to smartphone devices, combining passive on-device measurement with census-level data to provide one of the most accurate and detailed views into actual U.S. mobile media usage across apps and mobile browsing. Read Original Content A new Canalys report reveals worldwide smartphone shipments in the first 2012 quarter have reached 146 million units, which means a 45 percent year-on-year growth. In the U.S. the industry grew by 5 percent. Read Original Content ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - www.clicksoftware.com/. Buoyed by its successful launches, Samsung Electronics hopes to increase its share in the 18 to 19 million unit Indian smartphone market to 60 percent in the current year. Read Original Content Lenovo wants a piece of the smartphone pie and has confirmed it&rsquo;s willing to spend the dough to get a taste of the action with an $800 million investment in a smartphone division. Read Original Content By the end of 2017, smartphone shipments will reach 1.7 billion units, research firm Ovum predicts. That would represent a staggering compound annual growth rate of just under 25 percent for the period of 2011 to 2017. Read Original Content Samsung Electronics has announced the third generation Galaxy S, the Galaxy S III. Consumers can view content on the device's 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display. An 8-megapixel camera and a 1.9-megapixel front camera offer users a variety face recognition related options. Read Original Content Nielson says that in March 2012 smartphones were in use by 50.4 percent of consumers in the country, with Android continuing its domination in the space, accounting for 48.5 percent of all smartphone handsets. Read Original Content Do you regularly use your cell phone to coordinate meetings, which restaurant to eat at, or look up the score of a sporting event? According to Pew Internet and American Life Project, 70 percent of all cell phone owners in the U.S. and 86 percent of smartphone owners have used their phones to perform at least one of these activities over the last 30 days. Read Original Content NPD Group&rsquo;s latest study revealed that Android is dominating the U.S. smartphone market in the first quarter of 2012, now running on 61 percent of the smartphones activated in America. Read Original Content RIM&rsquo;s new BlackBerry Curve 9320 smartphone features all the core BlackBerry messaging and social-centric features that keep people connected, and offers global 3G connectivity backed by long battery life. Read Original Content App Promo conducted a study last month in an effort to investigate how well mobile developers are performing in this crowded space. The survey found a staggering 59 percent of mobile apps do not generate enough money to break even. Read Original Content Windows Phone continues to struggle to make inroads into the smartphone market, with two well-known research firms finding that it had 2 percent or less U.S. market share in the first quarter of the year. Read Original Content Between 2010 and 2011 the global installed base of app consumers increased by 104 percent. The number of new tablet app consumers increased by 58 million. As a result, tablet owners now constitute 8.6 percent of the installed app consumer base. Read Original Content AT&T Mobility is breaking into the home security market with a package of wireless services that will let customers control the safety of their residence from miles away. Read Original Content divThu, 10 May 2012 12:29:03 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Clicksoftware's Hadar Shafirhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Clicksoftwares-Hadar-Shafir
Last week in Atlanta, I met up with ClickSoftware's Product Manager Hadar Shafir, and had the opportunity to interview here and ask about their new ClickAppStore. Enterprise app stores are an interesting recent development in the enterprise mobility space and I am intrigued by the possibilities. The video camera is a bit shaky and for that I apologize. If it is too much, just close your eyes and enjoy the conversation :-) Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 09 May 2012 23:22:38 GMTMobile Expert Interview Series: Sencha's Michael Mullanyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Mobile-Expert-Interview-Series-Senchas-Michael-Mullany
Sencha is one of the three new partnerships SAP announced in April around HTML5. Here is a quote from SAP, "By collaborating with Adobe, Appcelerator and Sencha , SAP will enable millions of developers to effectively build mobile apps based on their choice of client architectures - from native to hybrid Web containers to mobile Web. Developers will be able to do so while leveraging an industry-leading enterprise mobile application platform from SAP." Sencha targets the enterprise market and is very excited to be a partner of SAP. Sencha is doing a lot of things right. They already have over 1 million downloads of their HTML5 tools, and have 350,000 members in their forum. I believe SAP is very smart with these partnerships. There is no way that SAP can keep up with the demand for mobile applications, so they partner with HTML5 tool vendors and ask the industry to standardize on their mobile platforms. The end users can now choose their own development environment as long as it supp...Wed, 09 May 2012 23:18:47 GMTThere's No Stopping Bring-Your-Own-Devicehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Theres-No-Stopping-Bring-Your-Own-Device
Graceanne Bowe, Senior Director, SAPinsider Events The rapid proliferation and introduction into the market of tablets, smartphones, and other user-friendly devices has spurred what the IT industry has dubbed &ldquo;Bring Your Own Device&rdquo; (or BYOD for those who like acronyms). As IT becomes more consumerized, users are making their own choices about how to receive information, view data, communicate, and work. How do IT managers feel about BYOD? While the reduction in equipment and service plan expense is alluring, there is significant concern over security, according to industry blogger and Farpoint Group Principal Craig Mathias (&ldquo; Why Security Isn&rsquo;t A BYOD Showstopper,&rdquo; Information Week). Since BYOD isn&rsquo;t going away anytime soon, what&rsquo;s an IT manager to do about security? Mathias suggests that proper management in the form of updated security policies, revised acceptable use agreements, and user training is critical. Integrating mobile device a...Wed, 09 May 2012 22:03:08 GMTSAP e-Invoicing - Argentina AFIP Basicshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAP-e-Invoicing-Argentina-AFIP-Basics
Legal requirements for invoicing are constantly changing in Argentina. While they are mandatory for some industries, others are still receiving future timelines from the Argentinean tax authority Administraci&oacute;n Federal de Ingresos P&uacute;blicos (AFIP). Today organizations need to consider solutions for Type E export invoices, as well as the new regulations for domestic (Type A and Type B) invoices. Regardless of the type of invoice, companies in Argentina and VAT registered importers must obtain a valid digital certificate and register it for use through one of the certification channels provided by the Argentinean tax authority (AFIP) www.afip.gov.ar . To do this, companies must first obtain a Fiscal Key or password to gain access to the AFIP web site and then link the certificate to their fiscal identification or CUIT on file with the government. Argentina e-Invoicing Basics: The MOST IMPORTANT : The AFIP requires that official document numbers be issued in sequence , so...Wed, 09 May 2012 15:53:56 GMTPodcast: SAP's Rebecca Newell on the Value of Social Media Analyticshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/May/Podcast-SAPs-Rebecca-Newell-On-The-Value-Of-Social-Media-Analytics
In this online exclusive podcast, SAP&rsquo;s Rebecca Newell discusses solution extensions as well as the enterprise value of social analytics and net sentiment. Newell is author of a new article in SAPinsider entitled Listen. Understand. Take Action. Become a Customer-Driven Business with SAP Social Media Analytics .Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Harish Rau, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Harish-Rau-Part-1
I had the honor of interviewing Element Five Solutions' Harish Rau last week. He is one of those rare people that have a lot of experience implementing SAP's mobility platform including SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform). He has a great deal of real world experience and is the guy to speak to about the good, bad and ugly of implementations. The value he brings to us, is real world advice. I hope you enjoy. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and hav e worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 08 May 2012 12:29:29 GMTAvengers (Super Heros), Enterprise Mobility and Network Centric Warfarehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Avengers-Super-Heros-Enterprise-Mobility-and-Network-Centric-Warfare
In the new movie titled, The Avengers - super heroes Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, Nick Fury and Hawkeye all work together to fight bad guys. The first thing I thought about when I read the plot was, " How do all these super heroes communicate with each other and coordinate activities when they are running around saving civilization? " Now I must admit, I seem to be the only person left in the world that did not see the movie this weekend. My excuse, I was getting organized for the next leg of my " Free Range Eggs with Benedict - Mobile Strategies Speaking Series. " Next up, speaking on mobile strategies in Las Vegas, Spain and The Netherlands. The military has also been struggling with the challenge of keeping all of their forces informed and connected. Since the 1990s, however, it has embraced the concept of "network-centric warfare." Here is how it is described on Wikipedia : Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations, is a military doc...Mon, 07 May 2012 17:30:35 GMTManaging Change in a Release Management Environment - Part III of IV (Critical success factors)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Managing-Change-in-a-Release-Management-Environment-Part-III-of-IV-Critical-success-factors
Last blog we discussed system architecture (N+1) as an important consideration in managing change in a Release Management environment and introduced several corresponding and important critical N+1 architecture success factors. In this blog we are going to drill down a little into each of the critical success factors. These being, change definition, process and managing parallel change. Change definition In part I we introduced a basic list of change types. In order to have an effective release strategy, a defining of the types of change to be managed by the release needs consideration. For example, the definitions should allow for important fixes and low impact changes to continue to trickle through the BAU landscape without undermining the overall strategy. If Gartner&rsquo;s five different types of change are considered, the following could become a basic change definition table with delivery paths and team responsibilities allocated. Change type Delivery path Team responsible L...Mon, 07 May 2012 08:06:48 GMTThe REAL Cost of Cutting Back on End-User Traininghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/The-REAL-Cost-of-Cutting-Back-on-End-User-Training
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs If your company polled your SAP end-users on their SAP competence what do you think the results would show? Would you be surprised to find, say, more than half of your end users rate themselves as "sub-standard" meaning they use the SAP system but admit they aren't getting the most of the functionality? (That would be the functionality you worked so hard to get in front of them.) Have you ever considered administering such a survey? Author and consultant Michael Doane (@micdoane) of CGI has not only administered such surveys at SAP customers, he's willing to share some results with you and provide his insights into what they mean. Doane provided some insights during our recent podcast available here . He's also willing to provide a case study he did with Fluor Corp. in this area to those who register for his live Q&A here on the Insider Learning Network next week. One of the questions Doane often gets in this area is: How do I know if my training inves...Wed, 02 May 2012 15:38:23 GMTLearning about The Real World of Enterprise Mobility in Scotlandhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Learning-about-The-Real-World-of-Enterprise-Mobility-in-Scotland
It is valuable for me to leave the office and spend time with different IT teams wrestling with real world enterprise mobility challenges from time to time. This week I had the privilege of working with a team in Scotland. We explored the use of MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms), the role of HTML5, MDM (mobile device management), IDEs (integrated development environments), mobile business strategies, and how to create RFIs for mobile solutions. This was the general overview, after those sessions, we jumped into how each of those components work in the real world - where nearly every company has a challenging mixture of back office applications and legacy systems. In the real world there are many bespoke/custom software applications. There are good software applications and bad. There are software vendors that don't want to expose their data to other vendors or mobile apps. There is corrupt and incomplete data. There are mobile applications that don't work well. There...Wed, 02 May 2012 14:03:50 GMTSAP Mexico CFDI - Outbound eInvoice Process Flowhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/SAP-Mexico-CFDI-Outbound-eInvoice-Process-Flow
As discussed in the past, we highly recommend your organization look at packaged solutions to solve SAP compliance for Mexico CFDI. However, if you are looking to understand the process flow for an outbound Invoice in Mexico and the complexities -- below is what you will have to build. Remember, sending/receiving from the government is just part of the whole process. The most overlooked effort in any Mexico e-Invoicing project is the SAP configuration work. Below is a sample of the inbound processes in Mexico for CFDI creation: Process begins with the Customer creating an SAP invoice via its standard SAP process, (like the SAP VF01 transaction). This triggers the creation of a billing document as per normal SAP processing during which your end solution should create an IDOC and transmit to your middleware solution to transform to the XML. This is traditionally done via SAP tRFC. Note &ndash; the SAP configuration to create this IDOC and manage the process internally is the most ove...Tue, 01 May 2012 21:01:43 GMTThe ROI on User Training with Michael Doanehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/May/The-ROI-On-User-Training-With-Michael-Doane
In this exclusive podcast, consultant and author Michael Doane provides his insights into the value of super user networks and the risks of letting end users go untrained. Doane provides details from a case study he recently completed with Fluor Corp. Be sure to register for the live Q&A with Doane on May 8 at 12:30 pm Eastern.Tue, 01 May 2012 19:50:25 GMTTalkin' 'Bout Fraud (and SAPPHIRE NOW) with Jon Reedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/May/Talkin-Bout-Fraud-and-SAPPHIRE-NOW-with-Jon-Reed
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I've been to the edge, and there I stood and looked down. I lost a lot of friends there, baby. I got no time to mess around. For those of you have been duped by a fraudulent IT consultant, you might relate to those not-so-coincidental lyrics from Van Halen's epic first album (more on that later). While all-out fraud may not be common in the SAP world, a consultanting misrepresenting his or her skills is, unfortunately, something SAP customers must be aware of. In my recent discussion with independent analyst and SAP mentor Jon Reed of JonERP.com, he provides some very useful tactics SAP customers can use to avoid the "bait and switch" and other less-than-ethical practices that some consultants use to win business. Jon's experience in the recruiting world has provided him with some interesting experiences when it comes to hiring and misrepresentation of skills and he shares one of those with us in this podcast. In the second half of the podcast, Jon als...Tue, 01 May 2012 13:41:59 GMTTalkin' 'Bout Consulting Fraud (and SAPPHIRE NOW) with Jon Reedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/May/Talkin-Bout-Consulting-Fraud-And-SAPPHIRE-NOW-With-Jon-Reed
In the latest in his podcast series, Jon Reed of JonERP discusses the topic of consulting fraud in the SAP world and provides some tips on what to look for at the upcoming SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG conferences.Tue, 01 May 2012 12:11:54 GMTPodcast: Impact of Cloud Computing on the IT Organization (Featuring SAP's Greg Chase)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/April/Podcast-Impact-Of-Cloud-Computing-On-The-IT-Organization-Featuring-SAPs-Greg-Chase
In this online-exclusive podcast, Greg Chase, Senior Director of SAP Business ByDesign Solution Marketing, discusses the impact of cloud on the IT organization and dispels one of the most popular misconceptions about cloud-based ERP. For more information, be sure to read End-to-End Business in the Cloud: A Tour of Today's SAP Business ByDesign .Sun, 29 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal 2012 (SAP NF-e 2.0) - Compliance is complex and requires SAP configurationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-2012-SAP-NF-e-2-dot-0-Compliance-is-complex-and-requires-SAP-configuration
Organizations should be aware that complying with Brazil&rsquo;s Nota Fiscal legislation is much more complicated than just creating a few XML integration points. SAP Nota Fiscal solutions and services have to solve the 3 core problems with compliance &ndash; Localization, SPED and sending/receiving digital Nota Fiscals. Often, those in charge of the SAP Global Template for their company, which is a huge undertaking, don&rsquo;t fully recognize the complexity of the process configuration inside of the ERP system. Here are the 3 key areas where you need to look for guidance: SAP ERP Localization for Brazil compliance &ndash; there are many OSS notes that you need to look at and install. If you are not on the most current version of SAP ECC 6.0, than I have seen companies that would need to install upwards of 300 notes to get their system compliant. It is critical to understand your local needs in Brazil, as well as align them with the upgrade policy and change management policy of t...Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:39:57 GMTDashboards in HTML-5 and the Zen the BEx Web Application Designer Killerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/Dashboards-in-HTML-5-and-the-Zen-the-BEx-Web-Application-Designer-Killer
As many know, Flash for mobile devices are &ldquo;dead&rdquo; and Adobe has announced that after releasing version 11.1 it would no longer continue to develop new releases for mobile (that is how SAP render dashboards). On a call last week SAP provided more details of their HTML-5 initiative. In this blog we look at what is happening and the announcement around Zen the BEx Web Application Designer killer. By Dr. Berg Flash and HTML-5 Background In older flash versions there were issues with navigation and drill-down selectors. So bad, that you often had to create a PC and a tablet version of the SAP dashboard. In version 11 much of this was fixed. However, flash still has a lot of problems that are fixed in HTML-5 (the technology that is &lsquo;replacing&rsquo; it). First of all HTML5 has better security, better compression, less memory consumption and smaller &lsquo;footprint&rsquo; on handheld devices. This includes less battery drain, less processing power requirement which allo...Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:45:20 GMTSAP's Sanjay Poonen on Mobile Strategieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/SAPs-Sanjay-Poonen-on-Mobile-Strategies
Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of spending time on the phone with Sanjay Poonen discussing SAP's intent to acquire Syclo , and other SAP related mobile strategies. Sanjay's current titles are President and Corporate Office, Technology and Innovation Products, Head of Mobile Division, SAP AG. Sanjay shared that SAP's ambitions are to turn enterprise mobility into a &euro;1 billion business for SAP. This will take some work, acquisitions and partnerships. He called this strategy Mobile 2.0. He said many of the mobile apps that SAP is getting with the intended acquisition of Syclo can be $50 million businesses on their own. [This article is based on my personal notes of our discussion, not Sanjay's exact words.] I said, "In 2010 you acquired Sybase. In 2012 you announced the intent to acquire Syclo. How do you see these two mobility vendors fitting together within SAP&rsquo;s mobility strategy?" Sanjay responded that SAP wants Syclo primarily for their design environment, mob...Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:14:34 GMTEnterprise Mobility, Mobile Sensors and Data Collectionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/Enterprise-Mobility-Mobile-Sensors-and-Data-Collection
I am reading a book titled Spying with Maps . It details the amazing sensors that are available on cameras and infrared scanners today. Perhaps not on your typical handheld camera, but if you have a heavy duty spy camera or infrared scanner hanging from an orbiting satellite you could have these capabilities. Here are some examples: sensors able to distinguish camouflage from natural vegetation sensors that can pinpoint distressed crops sensors that can identify heat loss and soil moisture sensors that can identify and classify vegetation sensors that can detect changes in objects (the object moved since yesterday) Perhaps you are scratching your head wondering how this will be useful at your next family reunion, but it gets even better! In this MacWorld article titled Photo Measures and Measured for iOS , the author describes several new mobile apps that enable you to take a photo and add measurements and angles to the image so you can see the dimensions of objects including the g...Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:44:21 GMTEnterprise Mobility, Re-usable Code and Private App Storeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/Enterprise-Mobility-Re-usable-Code-and-Private-App-Stores
A few years back when I was the CEO of a mobile enterprise application company, I spent a lot of time asking my PSO (professional services organization) the question, "Haven't we developed that before?" The answer was nearly always, " Yes, but it won't work on this project." That is not the answer a CEO wants to hear. The dream I had was to own a library of reusable code or objects that I could build once, and leverage on hundreds of future mobile projects. This week I read an article by my friend Gil Bouhnick, about ClickSoftware's new ClickAppStore . This is the model I had always wanted. It is not an app store for the public, it is a private app store for your internal developers and consultants. Here is how ClickSoftware describes it, " The ClickAppStore is designed to allow IT people, system implementers and administrators do more with their ClickMobile product by downloading and embedding business apps inside one powerful mobile foundation called ClickMobile, and run them on...Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:01:28 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal 2012 - Inbound Invoice Process to Change Againhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-2012-Inbound-Invoice-Process-to-Change-Again
The SEFAZ (Brazilian Tax Agency) is expanding the NF-e scope using an Event Orchestration Model for processing of inbound invoices. Earlier in 2012, the announcement was made that both transportation invoices as well as inbound NFe information would have to be stored in your back-end system of record. Additionally, the signing attributes associated with those validated invoices would have to be included on your monthly SPED reports to the government. However, this new change to event orchestration is one of the largest in recent history and is expected to be phased in over time. The ENCAT which manages the technical infrastructure for the government has announced that the testing system for this process will be live in the August 2012 timeframe. What does this really mean? The SEFAZ will act as a mediator between parties to insure accuracy of NF-e. This greatly expands the importance of the reception process. In recent conversations with Scott Lewin, Invoiceware International , a c...Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:20:54 GMTBW 7.3 upgrade notes: Splitting stacks in BW 7.3http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/BW-7-dot-3-upgrade-notes-Splitting-stacks-in-BW-7-dot-3
By Dr. Berg BW 7.3 migrations always raises questions about the Java-ABAP stack. Here are some quick notes: While &lsquo;double stack&rsquo; upgrades are still possible, SAP NetWeaver Java 7.3 is now included with BW 7.3. So the short story is that you should consider splitting the ABAP and Java stack as part of the 7.3 upgrade, if you have not already done so. Splitting the stack gives better scalability (multiple hardware servers). Also, the Java server is not used for IP after BW 7.30. It was re-developed in ABAP HTTP (Java no longer required), so plan for a switch during the upgrade. Some useful tools/notes for moving forward... A tool to split the stack is available in EhP2 (in SAPInst) and in SAPInst in ABAP 7.30. When you finish the upgrade, you can also automatically create connections between Java-ABAP for EP/IP or front-end Java using CTC (see SAP notes: 983156, 1178800 for instructions). Dr. BergFri, 13 Apr 2012 16:57:37 GMTSAP Acquires Syclo - A Second Cup of Coffee and 25 Commentshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/SAP-Acquires-Syclo-A-Second-Cup-of-Coffee-and-25-Comments
This is the second article in this series on SAP's announced intent to acquire Syclo. You can read Part 1 here . I am now on my second cup of coffee, a different day, but still pondering SAP's announced acquisition of Syclo. On the Linkedin group, SAP Enterprise Mobility (you should all join!), I conducted a poll. The question was, &ldquo;Do you think SAP's announced intention to acquire mobility vendor Syclo is a good move?" Here are the poll results and comments as of this afternoon (73 respondents): 78% - YES 15% - NO 6% - I don&rsquo;t know It seems the overwhelming opinion is that it will be a good thing, however, many of the comments seemed to reflect more frustration from the SAP ecosystem than the poll numbers reflected. IT departments and systems integrators are obviously having a challenge keeping up with this rapidly evolving field and SAP's moves. Comments: I think this will add more confusion for customers and partners who I am sure are scratching their head and trying...Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:53:14 GMTSAP Acquires Syclo - A First Analysis Over Coffeehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/SAP-Acquires-Syclo-A-First-Analysis-Over-Coffee
WARNING! These are my (Kevin Benedict's) personal thoughts and opinions pondered over a cup of my favorite coffee shop's bowl of soul, on the outdoor patio, in the warm spring sunshine of Boise, Idaho. My first thought when I received the news today that SAP is acquiring Syclo, was, "Smart move SAP!" I respect the fact that SAP is willing to double down on enterprise mobility. I also respect the fact that SAP is willing to brave the inevitable criticism for having bought the same solution twice. SAP has smart leaders. They have made an aggressive and brave decision with this acquisition. I think they recognized an unmet need, estimated the impact, valued the market and fixed it. I am sure this was not an easy decision. It will raise many questions, but I am sure it will make Sapphire 2012 even more interesting (perhaps even more than Van Halen in concert). SAP has doubled down on enterprise mobility, while Oracle is still not even in the game. I find it fascinating that the SAP lea...Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:42:48 GMTSAP e-Invoicing Mexico CFDI: Overview of Mexico SAT's 2011 Mandate and 2012 Changeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/SAP-e-Invoicing-Mexico-CFDI-Overview-of-Mexico-SATs-2011-Mandate-and-2012-Changes
Mexico CFDI On January 1, 2011, Mexico began requiring companies to integrate with the Mexico Tax Authority (SAT) for real-time issuance and approval of electronic invoices. Non-compliance with Mexico&rsquo;s Servicio de Administraci&oacute;n Tributaria (SAT), is the same as tax fraud and means not only heavy fines, but potential criminal charges and jail time for the responsible executives. With these severe penalties, organizations must ensure that their process is valid as well as their accounting systems. In the constantly changing environment, your organization needs a simple way to not only keep up with the changing legislation, but also, an easier way to ensure they are implemented into your ERP processes in a timely and legal manner. This article covers the key topics outlined in the 2011 and 2012 CFD v3.2 legislation. Don&rsquo;t forget, there is NEW LEGISLATION IN 2012, see below for the additions and changes from 2011. 2011 &ndash; Mexico Mandates Terminology Paper docum...Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:58:38 GMTEnterprise Mobility the Next Wave - Six Super Trendshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/Enterprise-Mobility-the-Next-Wave-Six-Super-Trends
Today, only 32% of 602 SAP customers surveyed by insiderRESEARCH ( download full report here ) have an enterprise wide mobile strategy in place. That means there is still a lot of work and thinking to be done here, but today we are going to take a break from today's environment and look at tomorrows'. For the past few months I have been pondering the next wave of technology innovations that will have major impacts on most IT environments. As a result, here are the "SUPER" trends that I would recommend IT organizations start watching and studying. These are also the technologies that I would like to hear SAP discuss at Sapphire this year. Enterprise Mobility, Part 2 - Customized, Context Aware, Pervasive and Predictive Content Geospatial and situational awareness about everything - 4 dimensional field services M2M (machine to machine, the Internet of Things) integrated into everything - Example Health Monitoring Augmented and Assisted Reality on mobile devices - Examples Navigation...Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:47:25 GMTWouldn't You Like to Predict the Future?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/Wouldnt-You-Like-to-Predict-the-Future
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs "Predictive Analysis." That was the term that stuck in my mind this week as I was reading SAP's announcement about its new solution, SAP BusinessObjects Predictive Analysis. As IDC's Dan Vesset, vice president, Business Analytics solutions, points out in the press release, "Predictive capabilities help businesses explore and identify the opportunities and risks hiding in the sea of all that big data." The business case for this exciting technology is clear. But what about BEYOND business? When you really think about it, there are a number of applications outside of the business world for predictive analytics. Wouldn't you like to know if your home value was going to rise or fall this year? Or your taxes? Each year we try to figure out if home heating oil prices are going to rise or fall before locking in a contract. What about your health? Wouldn't you benefit from knowing the likelihood of your being diagnosed with diabetes based on family history and...Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:45:51 GMTThe Future is Here - M2M, Robotics and Mobile Deviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/The-Future-is-Here-M2M-Robotics-and-Mobile-Devices
Fort Leonard Wood (a US Army base) had a ribbon cutting ceremony today for their new Robotics University . These robots do amazing tasks that save lives. They conduct some of the most dangerous tasks such as identifying and disabling IEDs (improvised explosive devices). I recently read several books about the use of robots in the military and one of the robotics engineers was quoted as saying he loves receiving broken pieces of his robots in the mail. Why? Each broken, burned and exploded robot represents a potentially saved human life. On this blog along with content about enterprise mobility, I write a lot about M2M (machine to machine), wireless embedded devices and remote sensors. These are all fields and technologies closely related to enterprise mobility. Each of the robots in the picture above communicates with and is controlled by wireless mobile devices. These robots are machines controlled by machines (M2M) that use the Internet to communicate in real time. Robots and remote M2M sensors are also data collectors. They are collecting data in the field and sending the data back to a server for analysis and use in decision making. At the server, analytics and intelligence software process this information, often in real time. In the commercial sector, M2M sensors are often used to track and monitor assets, equipment, materials, cargo and supplies. In fact, companies like ILS Technology partner with SAP, Oracle, IBM and many other ERP vendors to connect M2M devices to ERPs. The data that comes in from these remote sensors will become increasingly valuable and important to companies. There are many jobs and tasks that use humans inefficiently or in dangerous environments. I regularly hear examples of how a person is sent to a remote site just to record and write down data from a piece of equipment in the field. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I had dinner in Portland, Oregon with an engineering friend who was monitoring water levels in a Puget Sound tidal flat. They hired a contractor just to drive out to the remote site several times a week for thousands of dollars in order to write down the recorded water levels. I shared with him the capabilities of remote wireless sensors and he was very keen to utilize them on future projects. I spoke with the Chief Customer Officer of ILS Technology, Lawrence Latham yesterday. Lawrence says they spend their time connecting all of the disparate components of M2M systems together and simplifying their implementations so more companies can cost effectively take advantage of them. Companies like SAP talk about, "Managing the Real Time Enterprise." Managing a real-time enterprise will increasingly involve connecting devices or things to the internet. ILS Technology's motto is " We Connect The Internet of Things. " ************************************************************* div /divWed, 04 Apr 2012 13:51:11 GMTDevelopment Models for Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/April/Development-Models-for-Enterprise-Mobility
My friend and collaborator Andre Guillemin and I have been pondering different development considerations and models for enterprise mobility. Here are a few of the models we have been discussing: Model #1 - one mobile application for use on one mobile device Model #2 - one mobile application for use on multiple mobile devices using the same operating system Model #3 - one mobile application for use on multiple mobile devices and multiple operating systems Model #4 - multiple mobile applications for use on one mobile device Model #5 - multiple mobile applications for use on multiple mobile devices using the same operating system Model #6 - multiple mobile applications, multiple mobile devices, multiple operating systems and multiple versions of operating systems I most often see Models #1 and #2 in environments with purpose built and ruggedized devices that utilize RFID or bar code scanners. Model #2 is often found when the same application needs to run on two or more different rugg...Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:47:19 GMTCSR Reduces Downtime During Database Migrationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2012/April/CSR-Reduces-Downtime-During-Database-Migration
Many companies expect a few technical glitches to occur during database migration efforts. But for CSR Limited, sporadic outages were not an option. With 2,000 SAP users, CSR’s IT department needed to ensure the continued operation of its SAP system on the new database platform. It met its goal by using a robust, flexible automated monitoring solution.Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMTNew Research Shows IT Investments Have Big Profitability Impacthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/New-Research-Shows-IT-Investments-Have-Big-Profitability-Impact
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs No expense goes unquestioned these days. Whether you're a business traveler coding a $20 meal expense or a CIO implementing a new ERP system, you need to have your ducks in a row and be ready to explain the reason and benefit of that expense to the company. For major IT expenses in particular, the return on investment needs to be clear and quick today. In some ways, the CIO has to think like a defense attorney and "build their case" to support the expenditures they approve or initiate. Well, get ready for "Exhibit A" in the defendant's case. A recent study by a team of academic researchers looking at the impact of IT on profitability found "something very surprising: Investment in IT had a greater impact on a company&rsquo;s profits than comparable spending on either advertising or R&D." Wow, right? You may have believed this all along but to have some clear, non-partisan evidence to bring to the "trial" is new. So the question for those CIOs looking t...Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:11:06 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: The Sybase 365 Teamhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-The-Sybase-365-Team
I have said it before, and I will say it again, I believe the Sybase 365 platform is one of Sybase's most interesting mobile platforms and one of their best kept secrets. It is huge in m-Commerce and in mobile banking. It is also widely used around the world for mobile commerce. In this interview, I talk about Sybase 365 with Sybase's Allen Lau and Gabe Thendean. An interesting side note - The Sybase 365 platform is integrated in some of SAP's mobile competitors' solutions. Some of these competitors are actually using the power and capabilities of Sybase 365 to give them competitive advantages over SAP and SUP. I think SAP should pay more attention to Sybase 365 as it can be the engine to power much of the new wave of mobile banking and m-Commerce globally. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitte...Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:04:45 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Kony Solutions' Sam Lakkundihttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Kony-Solutions-Sam-Lakkundi
Several weeks ago I had the good fortune to meet up with my long time friend and mobility expert Sam Lakkundi while I was in Orlando, Florida. Sam and I have been meeting up at enterprise mobility conferences for most of a decade. He has traveled the world first with Sybase, and now with Kony Solutions as the VP of Mobile Strategies. Kony Solutions is an interesting company. They are kind of the new kid on the block in the enterprise mobility space, but they have huge experience in the mobile B2C (business-to-consumer) area. This experience is serving them very well now because as companies adopt the BYOD (bring your own device) model, they are finding that the B2C and B2E (business-to-employee) models are converging. If a company decides to support a wide number of mobile devices using many different mobile platforms, then that is basically the same model as B2C. This plays to Kony Solutions' strengths. In this interview Sam discusses BYOD models, HTML5, enterprise mobility, mobil...Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:51:12 GMTSAP Brazil Nota Fiscal - Service Invoices Are Treated Differentlyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/SAP-Brazil-Nota-Fiscal-Service-Invoices-Are-Treated-Differently
Brazil Nota Fiscal legislation covers not only physical goods (NF-e), but the law also covers service invoices (NFS-e) and logistic invoices (CTe) making the implementation for global organizations even more complex. The primary classifications include: The primary classifications include: Nota Fiscal Eletronica (NF-e) - The electronic signatures for the Nota Fiscal Eletronica (NF-e) were made mandatory starting in 2008 and all companies transitioned by 2010. This legislation required that every item leaving a bonded or non-bonded warehouse have a document that travels with the goods. The Nota Fiscal is a commercial reporting regulation used on all product transfers, from the seller to the buyer, for national or international products. Brazil Electronic Invoice for Services (NFS-e) &ndash; is used for the confirmation of service invoices and can be very complex as there is not one entity to worry about, but over 120+ cities that can affect service invoices. Brazil Transportation Do...Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:16:31 GMTQRCs, T-Shirts, Pick-Up Lines and Smartphoneshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/QRCs-T-Shirts-Pick-Up-Lines-and-Smartphones
This week I walked into a Walgreens store with my wife and saw that all of the employees were wearing T-Shirts with QRCs (quick response codes) on their sleeves. The clerk did not know what they were. Being me, I walked up to the clerk and asked if I could scan his sleeve. I used the Redlaser app on my iPhone to scan the QRC. It launched a website about an upcoming walk the company was sponsoring to raise funds to fight some disease. I thought the whole incident was humorous. Employees are walking around with coded messages on their clothes with messages they do not know. However, it did get me thinking, which is not always useful. What if people that are hanging out at pubs all started wearing QRCs on their clothes? If you are interested in a person, you can simply walk up to them and scan their QRC, which would launch a website with their details. Seems like an efficient way to learn about a person without actually having to talk to them. First impressions would be of out-stretch...Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:58:09 GMTMore on SAP Mobile App Pricinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/More-on-SAP-Mobile-App-Pricing
Last week I wrote an article titled, SAP Mobility and the App Pricing Problem , that stirred the pot. I don't know if it was trending on Twitter that day, but in my little world it caused a buzz. As a result of that article I received a near instant invitation to speak to SAP's Senior VP of Mobile Strategy Nick Brown, and Sybase's VP of Mobile Solutions Willie Jow. Today I was honored to speak to both of them about SAP's mobile pricing strategies. Let me start out by saying the SAP mobility team is smart. They understand mobility, and the challenges that come along with it. They also understand SAP, SAP customers and how the SAP partner ecosystem works. All of these pieces of the puzzle are on the table and are being aligned. Not every possible pricing scenario is worked out yet, but most. It must be recognized that enterprise mobility can be complex. You can make it as simple as possible, but not simpler . ~ Einstein Here is how I understand SAP's pricing based upon my call with N...Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:17:07 GMTIs it TIME for Organizational Change Management or OCM takes time?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Is-it-TIME-for-Organizational-Change-Management-or-OCM-takes-time
Being in business of making the TIME, sounds like a fiction, but most of our SAP consultants are under pressure to produce exactly that: TIME. Often we see that consultants experience client's or employer's pain points more painfully than that should be the case. We turn back to our ASAP methodology and practice and our Business Transformation Management with add-on BTM2 and all other practical and current methods "in use", and we continue to find that there shouldn&rsquo;t be any room for pain points to continue to work its way out and to act as the &ldquo;live organisms&rdquo; through every organization that is trying to grow and adopt the change. We know that if we follow our own best practice and fine ASAP methodology proven to deliver over and over again to its very fine point, that we will be successful when helping our customers and our internal organizations and projects. However, we cannot take for granted that our customers would adopt the methods and practices that we ha...Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:59:25 GMTMy Conference Tiphttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/My-Conference-Tip
Best advice...although the sessions are informative, nothing beats a chat with the SAP experts at the booth to see the system live!Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:02:01 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Logica's Hans Nygaardhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Logicas-Hans-Nygaard
Hans Nygaard, Global Lead for Mobility, with Logica works with many clients on mobile projects particularly in the Scandinavian countries. He offers his insights into enterprise mobility in this interview with me that was recorded at SAPinsiders' recent Mobile2012 conference. In this interview Hans reports on how his clients have matured through the enterprise mobility curve. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:29:49 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Sky Technologies' Roger Newbyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Sky-Technologies-Roger-Newby
I have known Sky Technologies ' Roger Newby for many years. He is an expert in enterprise mobility, both on the software and the hardware side of the business. In this interview Roger shares his insights on mobility and working within the SAP mobility ecosystem. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:17:48 GMTWhat is "Payment Usage"?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/What-is-Payment-Usage
What is &ldquo;Payment Usage&rdquo; If you have not heard about payment usage then this blog will definitely give you exciting information. It is often user asked or search for information where he or she can know how many invoices got cleared by a particular payment document. A traditional way of answering is to view it through FBL1N (vendor line item) and calling an appropriate column like clearing document and totaling, subtotaling etc&hellip; However, there is another easy way to quickly find out such information and such info called payment usage. If you happen to know the payment document number then go to Document display &ldquo;FB03&rdquo; (Menu Path: AccountingTue, 20 Mar 2012 13:03:07 GMTEfficiency in the Warehousehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Efficiency-in-the-Warehouse
Visit the Catalyst booth. Catalyst will answer your questions on how to bring efficency and accuracy to your warehouse business processes. Maximize your productivity on picking, packing and shipping large LTL/TL orders and Small Parcel orders.Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:02:26 GMTSAP NFe - Nota Fiscal Process Overview for Physical Goodshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/SAP-NFe-Nota-Fiscal-Process-Overview-for-Physical-Goods
The Brazil tax authority, also known as SEFAZ, imposes a defined electronic standard format that all companies must adhere to closely. This &ldquo;Nota Fiscal Eletronica&rdquo; (NF-e) format is officially recognized as the sole and only invoice document of record for tax compliance purposes. Basic Requirements Real time integration with Brazilian Tax Authority (SEFAZ) Invoices must be registered and approved before goods are transported Printed DANF-e must accompany goods in transit for validation en route NF-e received electronically by recipient in advance. Must be validated and any returns accounted for via &ldquo;return order process&rdquo; Each outbound e-Invoicing solution must also provide for inbound processing as well Inbound validation required by law, and new 2012 mandates for incorporating with SPED reporting Transportation Invoices (CTe) become mandatory starting in September 2012 Brazil&rsquo;s 7 Step Process for NF-e physical goods &ndash; Is your organization prepar...Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:29:47 GMTPodcast: E-Invoicing is About More Than Technologyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/March/Podcast-E-Invoicing-Is-About-More-Than-Technology
Listen in as Steve Sprague, vice president of marketing &amp; product strategy at Invoiceware International, explains that there is more to successful e-invoicing than JUST technology. Regulatory issues can be the difference between a truck leaving the dock and one sitting idle. Sprague provides some very practical tips and suggestions for e-invoicing in the Latin American region, using real-world examples to illustrate the importance of these best practices.Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:23:05 GMTCoca Cola Consolidated and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Coca-Cola-Consolidated-and-Enterprise-Mobility
I just listened to an overview of a recent mobility project that Coca Cola Consolidated did using the system integrator Energy4U and the MEAP vendor Syclo . The solution integrated with SAP. It was basically a mobile shipping, inventory and warehouse application. A few interesting points, 1)Coca Cola Consolidated are mobility veterans in some parts of their organization with over 25 years of mobility experience, but they outsourced this project to a mobility vendor and a system integrator, and 2) the project only took 8 weeks. Coca Cola Consolidated selected Energy4U and Syclo as their mobility implementation team because mobility was not their core focus. They wanted to outsource this effort to an experienced team with SAP expertise. The success of the project was credited to productive on site visits where processes and requirements were accurately documented, trained experts and a good MEAP vendor. It also helped that there was a very experienced Energy4U mobility team that were...Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:37:34 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of March 12, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-March-12-2012
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. Also read Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly Also read M2M News Weekly Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly Also read Mobile Health News Weekly Samsung&rsquo;s market share in the Chinese market is three times larger than Apple&rsquo;s and still growing, Bloomberg reported. Read Original Content By 2016, iGR expects approximately 96 percent of U.S. handset sales to be comprised entirely of smartphone sales. Read Original Content 4G handsets grabbed 35 percent of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter, up from just 6 percent a year earlier, NPD said. Read Original Content ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - www.clicksoftware.com/. Beginning March 1, Facebook began allowing brands that people &ldquo;like&rdquo; to send messages and ads to those users&rsquo; mobile news feeds. Facebook could generate more than $1.2 billion from mobile ads in the program&rsquo;s first year, estimates Mobile Squared. Read Original Content div class="separator" a href="http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/Specials/Cloud-Computing/PC-to-Die-by-2015--Long-Live-Cloud/28/35/11975/GS1203133610585_2" /a /div p a href="http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/android-platform-chief-eric-chu-resigns-after-google-play-shakeup/2012-03-12" /a br / br / a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46697449/ns/business-motley_fool/#.T2E0oJh1_ao" /a br / br / a href="http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/418091/apple_increases_share_us_smartphone_market/" /a br / br / a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/03/09/iphone_tops_smartphone_sales_in_japan_for_the_first_time.html" /a br / br / a href="http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3343581/ipad-will-drive-tablets-become-fourth-largest-semiconductor-market/" /a br / br / a href="http://www.zdnetasia.com/s-korea-smartphone-market-worth-us5-4b-62304138.htm" /a br / br / a href="http://telecomlead.com/inner-page-details.php?id=7502&block=Mobile" /a /pThu, 15 Mar 2012 14:25:36 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Smartsoft Mobile's CEO Dan Homrichhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Smartsoft-Mobiles-CEO-Dan-Homrich
This is an interview with mobility expert Dan Homrich, CEO of Smartsoft Mobile that I recorded at the recent SAPinsider Mobile2012 conference in Las Vegas. Dan has been in the enterprise mobility industry for over 20 years and has many great experiences to share from his time on the front lines of mobility. In this interview I am asking what he sees in 2012 that was different than in 2011. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work wit h and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:17:14 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: CSC's Quentin Fisherhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-CSCs-Quentin-Fisher
I have interviewed CSC's Quentin Fisher several times before and he always has great insight into mobility trends. He leads the mobility effort at CSC and has visibility into enterprise mobility projects worldwide. I hope you enjoy this interview from SAPinsider's recent conference. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:34:21 GMTSAP Nota Fiscal 2012 - New Brazil Mandate for Transportation Invoiceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/SAP-Nota-Fiscal-2012-New-Brazil-Mandate-for-Transportation-Invoices
Brazil continues to add and update their Nota Fiscal legislation. Today, I wanted to discuss the importance of Transportation Invoices, as these will be mandated starting in September 2012. The Transporation Invoice, also known as the Conhecimento de Transporte (CT-e for short) was added to the legislation as a mandatory electronic document based on the 169th meeting of the Conselho Nacional de Pol&iacute;tica Fazend&aacute;ria &ndash; CONFAZ held on December 11, 2011. Below, I summarize some of the common questions we are hearing from clients and SAP end users. Key Take Away - ensure your solutions have the ability to validate the CT-e and work with your freight forwarding and 3PL partners to understand the timeframes that they will transition to the CT-e. What is the CT-e: Brazil Transportation Document &ndash; is issued and stored electronically in order to document the provision of transport services, whose legal validity is guaranteed by the issuer&rsquo;s digital signature an...Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:01:17 GMTPodcast: Yosh Eisbart on developing a strong data migration strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Podcast-Yosh-Eisbart-on-developing-a-strong-data-migration-strategy
Big Data is transforming the enterprise IT market. The quantity of data rises, and companies are struggling to keep up. In the SAP market -- as with any market -- a strategy is needed to migrate data of all kinds into the SAP system. Last week at Admin 2012 in Las Vegas, Yosh Eisbart of NIMBL Consulting gave a session on this topic. He spoke about challenges his clients face, commonly made mistakes, and where to go for more resources. I sat down with Yosh for a few minutes after the session to talk about some of the key takeaways on this topic. You can listen to a podcast of that interview here .Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:21:32 GMTDeveloping a strong data migration strategy with Yosh Eisbarthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/March/Developing-A-Strong-Data-Migration-Strategy-With-Yosh-Eisbart
At Admin 2012 in Las Vegas, I caught up with NIMBL Consulting's Yosh Eisbart. Yosh and I talked about his session on data migration strategy, and discussed some key pitfalls companies face. He also provided a great resource any company can use to improve their data migration processes.Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:59:08 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: appsFreedom's Vaidy Iyerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-appsFreedoms-Vaidy-Iyer
Last week I was able to attend a very interesting session on enterprise mobility and cloud computing lead by appsFreedom's CEO Vaidy Iyer. The session was at SAPinsider's Mobile2012 conference. I cornered him following the session and interviewed him on his insights into enterprise mobility and 2012 trends. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* div /divThu, 08 Mar 2012 15:54:09 GMTFrom Van Halen to the Future of ABAP (Podcast #2 with Jon Reed)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/From-Van-Halen-to-the-Future-of-ABAP-Podcast-2-with-Jon-Reed
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs In my first podcast with independent analyst Jon Reed of JonERP.com, he pointed out that you don't necessarily want "rock stars" on IT project teams. "You don't want to bring in some kind of Eddie Van Halen guitar solo virtuoso SAP person" to an SAP project team, he joked. Strangely, only weeks later, SAP announced that Van Halen would be the musical act at this year's SAPPHIRE NOW ASUG annual conference, sending rock waves across the SAP universe . Coincidence? I'll let you be the judge. But at the very least, you'll want to check out my second podcast with Reed and listen for more spot-on predictions and inside skinny. In this interview, the SAP mentor provides his insights on: The future of ABAP in a cloud and mobile world The skills you need to manage big data Where SAP professionals should be focusing their social media efforts The value of becoming a super user as a career stepping stone Listen to the podcast here. And if you have topics or quest...Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:12:42 GMTFrom Van Halen to ABAP: Jon Reed Delivers in Latest Podcasthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/March/From-Van-Halen-To-ABAP-Jon-Reed-Delivers-In-Latest-Podcast
&nbsp;Jon Reed of JonERP.com provides his insights on a wide variety of topics including: the value of becoming super user as a career stepping stone, the future of ABAP, skills required to manage big data, and the impact of social media on SAP users. And yes, there's a Van Halen reference again.Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:47:53 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: TPC's Tony Smithhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-TPCs-Tony-Smith
I had the pleasure of attending a session this week led by The Principal Consulting firm's Tony Smith at the SAPinsider Mobile2012 conference. They now have experience working on over 25 SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform) implementations. In this Mobile Expert Video Series segment, I corner Tony and ask him some additional questions about their experiences. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an indepen dent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:23:04 GMTPredictions on Enterprise Mobility and HTML5http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/Predictions-on-Enterprise-Mobility-and-HTML5
I have conducted several surveys recently where I asked people to predict the percentage of enterprise mobility applications that will be written in HTML5 by 2014. Three months ago I asked a group of "big firm" analysts for their prediction and it ranged from 30% to 50% of enterprise mobility apps. Yesterday I asked a person here at the SAPinsider Mobile2012 event and their prediction was 20%. Last month I polled a group on Linkedin, SAP Enterprise Mobility , and 20 people responded with their predictions. Here are the unscientific, but interesting, results: Question: What percentage of enterprise mobility apps will be developed using HTML4 by 2014? 20% said less than 30% of enterprise mobility apps 15% said 31% to 40% of enterprise mobility apps 10% said 41% to 50% of enterprise mobility apps 15% said 51% to 60% of enterprise mobility apps 40% said more than 61% of enterprise mobility apps Fifty-five percent predict that more than 50% of enterprise mobility apps will be developed...Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:02:23 GMTVideo: An Insider's Look at Hasbro's SAP Journeyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2012/March/Video-An-Insider-S-Look-At-Hasbro-S-SAP-Journey
In this insiderPROFILES exclusive video, Hasbro's Dan Ratigan, Vice President of Global IT Partnership Delivery, and CIO Denise Clark describe how the company is using SAP technology to expand its global footprint and drive more common business processes. To read the full story, see Mr. Potato Head Meets New Markets in the Wake of Hasbro&rsquo;s SAP Upgrade .Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT5 key principles for mobile project successhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/March/5-key-principles-for-mobile-project-success
Great session with very relevant and valuable agenda, and to-the-point messages. Especially the importance of getting started, to build competency and get instant feedback on the apps.Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:25:31 GMTObservations about SAP Enterprise Mobility, MEAPS and SDKshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Observations-about-SAP-Enterprise-Mobility-MEAPS-and-SDKs
I am attending the SAPinsider Mobile2012 event in Las Vegas this week, and have had the honor of meeting and speaking with many people involved in SAP enterprise mobility. These people were SAP partners and SAP employees. One of the distinct impressions I got was that most are focused on simply extending existing SAP systems out to a mobile user, but not focused on transforming businesses with mobility. I attended a session on SAP's mobile EAM solution (enterprise asset management) yesterday. In it they demonstrated how the mobile app integrated with SAP and extended SAP fields out to the mobile device. However, there was no SDK (software development kit) that would enable the user to customize the app for their specific requirements and projects. It is basically a generic hard coded solution that extends SAP EAM functionality to the field. There is value to that, but not transformational value. I asked the SAP person if they used the SAP's mobile SDK to build the mobile EAM soluti...Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:45:04 GMTMy Conference Tip: Clean Before You Movehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/My-Conference-Tip-Clean-Before-You-Move
Loved Don Loden's sessions on ETL, Cleansing the Data, and creating Real-Time and batch services using Data Services.. Powerful, clever, and crafty! That was creative and practical for any organization. Look forward to getting back to Texas and implementing it at our company! Thanks again Don!Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:02:07 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of February 20, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-February-20-2012
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly Also read Field Mobility News Weekly Also read M2M News Weekly Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly Also read Mobile Health News Weekly A new study by Forrester found that business spending on mobile projects is expected to grow by 100 percent by 2015, and spending on mobile apps is predicted to hit $55 billion in 2016. Read Original Content According to AT&T, smartphone use has risen to 85 percent of small businesses, up from 80 percent last year. Also, even though the tablet market is not yet two years old, tablet use by small businesses was at 67 percent, up from 57 percent last year. Read Original Content In 2016 total global mobile application revenue will reach an estimated $46 billion, according to ABI Research. That figure includes pay-per-download, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. Read Original Content ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - www.clicksoftware.com/. Juniper's Mobile Threats Report for 2011 shows malware increased in 2011 by 155 percent. 46.7 percent of all threats analyzed by Juniper in 2011 were Android, ahead of 41 percent for Java ME. Read Original Content The total number of Macs sold is 122 million. In 2011 alone, if you tally up all the iOS devices including iPods and iPads, 156 million were sold&mdash;more than all Macs ever sold. In one year. Read Original Content In 2011 demand for mobile phones once again increased in Europe, largely as a result of the rising popularity of smartphones. According to GfK, 3.2 percent more mobile phones were sold in 2011, and sales of smartphones increased by 67 percent. Read Original Content During Apple&rsquo;s second fiscal quarter, Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron sees the company selling 31 million iPhones and 11 million iPads into channels, which would ensure yet another huge quarter for the world&rsquo;s most valuable company. Read Original Content A Nielson survey says, &ldquo;While overall smartphone penetration stood at 48 percent in January, those in the 24-34 age group showed the greatest proportion of smartphone ownership, with 66 percent saying they had a smartphone.&rdquo; Read Original Content According to Cisco, the United States and France have the highest request for tablets, at 21 percent. In Spain 90 percent of IT managers believe the tablet will be more popular in the next two years. Read Original Content According to a study from Kantar Worldpanel the UK smartphone market is growing at a rapid pace, and half of the British population currently (50.3 percent) own a smartphone. Read Original Content Panasonic this week gave dealers and journalists a hands on look at its extremely broad 2012 range of products &ndash; and in the process laid out its mission statement for smart TVs, and announced its return to the European smartphone market. Read Original Content Japanese companies Fujitsu and Panasonic plan to enter the European smartphone market as rivals Apple and Samsung have piled on the pressure in their previously isolated home market. Read Original Content Analyst firm Ovum says that consumers' increasing use of IP-based messaging services on their smartphones cost telecom operators $8.7 billion in lost SMS revenues in 2010, and $13.9 billion last year. Read Original Content Apple&rsquo;s share of China's smartphone market slipped for a second straight quarter in the fourth quarter of last year, with its ranking dropping to number five amid competition from local vendors. Read Original Content divThu, 23 Feb 2012 18:03:02 GMTSAP eInvoicing: Mexico SAT Introduces New Changes in 2012 for E-Invoicing that Affect SAP ERP Processeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/SAP-eInvoicing-Mexico-SAT-Introduces-New-Changes-in-2012-for-E-Invoicing-that-Affect-SAP-ERP-Process
When organizations first hear the term electronic invoicing, they often immediately think of accounts payable solutions. However, the real issue at hand for global companies is compliance - which encompasses not only supplier invoices, but also outbound invoices to customers (accounts receivables). This one word, compliance, will be the dominating meaning of electronic invoicing for the foreseeable future, especially for corporations looking to expand their business into Latin America. It all started in Brazil. But over the past 3 years, Mexico has also adopted a more intricate series of legislation and regulations around electronic invoicing. Mexico&rsquo;s Servicio de Aministracion Tributaria (SAT) has just released a new set of requirements that organizations will currently have to adopt by July 2012. These new mandates appear to be more similar to the Brazilian Nota Fiscal processes. In this first blog, we will cover some of the new changes and in future blogs will cover them i...Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:37:42 GMTThe Future of ABAP: What every ABAP developer should know - Q&A with Discover ABAP author Thorsten Franzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Q-and-As/2012/February/Future-of-ABAP-Q-A-with-Thorsten-Franz
<p>Like any development language, ABAP is a constantly evolving and continues to adapt to changes in business and technology.&nbsp;We recently moderated an online forum with SAP mentor and <i><a href="http://www.sap-press.com/products/Discover-ABAP-%282nd-Edition%29.html">Discover ABAP</a> </i>author&nbsp; Thorsten Franz&nbsp; on&nbsp;what has changed in this most recent edition of <em><a href="http://www.sap-press.com/products/Discover-ABAP-%282nd-Edition%29.html"><i>Discover ABAP</i></a></em>, and how&nbsp; ABAP developers can&nbsp;prepare for changes brought on by HANA, OLAP, cloud computing, mobile devices, OO programming, and open source technologies.</p>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMTMore on Mobility and 4D Field Serviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/More-on-Mobility-and-4D-Field-Services
I wrote an article a few months ago titled, Mobility and 4D Field Services , in which I shared the four dimensions of mobility and field services. These dimensions are similar to the GPS coordinates (length, width, height), plus the addition of time. This weekend I was reading a book titled, Stray Voltage, War in the Information Age , by Wayne Michael Hall. In this book he takes a concept I wrote about, 4D Field Services, and adds two more, cyberspace and cerebral . Here is a quote from Hall, "Information superiority is firmly connected to making decisions that are superior to an adversary's and combines information technology and intellectual power to create conditions with which to make better decisions." Hall is making the point that with mass volumes of data that is collected in the field using remote sensors, data collection technologies, M2M and mobile solutions we need to improve our operational strategies and ways of thinking. The data can provide us with real-time "situati...Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:24:13 GMTBristol City Council Housing and Mobile Field Serviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Bristol-City-Council-Housing-and-Mobile-Field-Services
The Bristol City Council owns 28,000 homes that need to be maintained and repaired. For those of us that own even one home, we recognize how much maintenance is required. These homes, however, are rented and come with the added challenges involved with maintaining rentals. In fact it takes 300 field service technicians full time to keep up with the work load. In order to efficiently complete all the work needed, they sought to improve productivity, document and manage worker's skills, identify the tools required, and provide optimized routing between jobs. They also needed to figure out a way to improve scheduling to optimize productivity. They worked with their systems integrator Capgemini to come up with a solution that would save them &pound;2.7 million per annum in operation costs. One of the biggest challenges was communication with 300 mobile field service technicians that were on the move and working in remote locations. Capgemini solved this part of the puzzle by deploying...Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:39:49 GMTHybridProviders in BW 7.3 - Linking historical data in BWA to real-time datahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/HybridProviders-in-BW-7-dot-3-Linking-historical-data-in-BWA-to-real-time-data
By Dr. Berg To speed up query execution and also get access to &lsquo;near-time&rsquo; and &lsquo;real-time&rsquo; data in BW, look at the new "HybridProvider". The core idea is to link the historical data inside BWA with real-time data. Currently, there are two ways of implementing a hybrid provider: it can be based on a DSO or a Virtual InfoCube. If you base it on a DSO, then &lsquo;real-time&rsquo; data is in the DSO and historical data in the BWA-based InfoCube (the DSO uses real-time data acquisition (RDA) to load data). BW automatically creates a process chain for the HybridProvider's data flow and the process chain is executed for every closed request. This solution provides for really fast queries, but delta logic has to be custom designed. If you base it on a Virtual cube, the data is read in real-time from ECC, while historical data is read from BWA. The difference depends on how often BWA is loaded. Basic non-complex data logic can be applied and DTP is permitted if you...Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:28:53 GMTThis Walking Robot by Boston Dynamics is Incredible - Must Watch!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/This-Walking-Robot-by-Boston-Dynamics-is-Incredible-Must-Watch
For all you mobile and M2M technology enthusiasts this is a must watch. In particular, the balance and agility of this robot is amazing. The Terminator has never been closer!!! I wondered if there was an iPhone implanted in this robot to help it keep balance. Watch the video here . How long until the "Petman" walks a route as a security guard or an inspector? ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Discl osure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:51:37 GMTWhat's New in HTML5 - Week of February 13, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Whats-New-in-HTML5-Week-of-February-13-2012
Each week I conduct market research on HTML5 and its impact on enterprise mobility and post the best of the articles I find here with a brief synopsis. I hope you find it useful and interesting. Google has launched two new HTML5-powered apps for offline reading of documents, one for the Chrome browser and one for Android. Read original content The upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS will include HTML5 support. Read original content Developer productivity tool provider ComponentOne, has released a 2012 version of Wijmo, a &ldquo;kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development.&rdquo; Read original content One advantage of HTML5 is that it helps search engines recognize media content. Native apps cannot be searched, so using an HTML5 app is a better option if it is important that your content be seen by as many people as possible. Read original content Facebook is testing a bookmark for the HTML5 platform at the top of the app&rsquo;s news feed, to help garner attention and build interest i...Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:39:57 GMTHealth IT and Cloud Based Mobility Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Health-IT-and-Cloud-Based-Mobility-Solutions
Last week I wrote that I believe enterprise mobility will transform Healthcare more than just about any industry outside of media. Healthcare requires access to a lot of data, the collection of a lot of data and collaboration with many others in mobile environments. This traditional paper intensive industry is already rapidly digitizing, and now in the process of mobilizing. However, some of the biggest challenges are figuring out how to mobilize large numbers of back-end systems and processes cost effectively. Stephen Chilton, Director of IT for the University Hospital Birmingham (UHB) in the UK faced these challenges. I recorded a podcast with him last year that you can listen to here . He researched how he could use cost effective mobile solutions to assist doctors, nurses, clinical staff and executives in their every day routine jobs that did not necessarily justify huge investments, but could really benefit from mobility. Chilton had already learned, through several previous t...Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:30:06 GMTWhat's Old is New Again: Mobility Brings Some Familiar Challengeshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Whats-Old-is-New-Again-Mobility-Brings-Some-Familiar-Challenges
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to enterprise mobility. There are new capabilities, new business opportunities, and new jobs available in the enterprise as a result of mobility's crashing the enterprise party. But, according to a recent survey of CIOs, the biggest challenge to developing a successful mobile app has nothing to do with technology --it's the soft stuff that presents the challenge. "Building mobile applications requires intense collaboration between numerous groups within the organization, including marketing, IT, operations and sales," said John Reed, executive director of Robert Half Technology. "It's important for mobile application developers to have strong soft skills, in addition to the ability to write code and test and debug software applications." Yes, according to a survey of 1,400 CIOs conducted by Robert Half Technology , the biggest challenge for IT teams when developing mobile apps is collaborating across depa...Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:15:54 GMTThinking About Mobile Devices for Field Services?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Thinking-About-Mobile-Devices-for-Field-Services
It is interesting listening to mobility vendors today. Many began as recent start-ups and their entire mobility careers have been focused on supporting white collar workers using powerful smartphones integrated with ERPs. However, mobility vendors that started a decade or more ago see the world in a different light. They are more sensitive to the needs and requirements of the field service technician, the lineman and inspector. These users are in the field, on remote job sites and subject to the weather and harsh working conditions surrounding them. These workers appreciate the term, rugged, especially as it relates to mobile devices. There is a big difference between working environments, which should be considered and influence the kinds of mobile devices selected for use by your mobile workforce. When I am jogging outdoors it is very hard for me to stop in the bright sunlight of Boise, Idaho and read the screen on my iPhone. It is very dim in bright sunlight. What if my entire w...Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:06:38 GMTMore on IBM's Acquisition of Mobility Vendor Worklighthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/More-on-IBMs-Acquisition-of-Mobility-Vendor-Worklight
Last week I wrote my initial analysis of IBM's announced acquisition of mobility vendor Worklight . Yesterday, I received a written reply from Worklight's Austin Ford that adds important information that is worth sharing. Here is his reply in its entirety. I'm happy to see your interests in our company! To address some questions, let's first mention that Worklight is actually predominantly used as an MCAP play (true story, most deployment usage of WL is B2C). Yes we're also a MEAP, and these distinctions in Gartner's language (they claim they coined both acronyms) are getting blended into 1 this year. For some comparisons to the Sybase SUP, this might address the high level stuff: *Worklight outputs are web languages (HTML5) and usage of open or closed libraries and / or / combination using the actual SDK's from the mobile OS manufacturers. This means the outputs are actual true native code and all of it, not virtual machines and proprietary translation code like many others or lim...Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:23:44 GMTM2M Comes in Flying Swarms - You Must Watch This!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/M2M-Comes-in-Flying-Swarms-You-Must-Watch-This
M2M (machine to machine) solutions come in all sizes and varieties but I have never seen anything as cool as this. These little nano quadrotors can carry video cameras, remote sensors and all kinds of clever components. Machines are getting very, very scary smart. Think about the real time management capabilities needed to manage a swarm of these on your iPad. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:13:55 GMTA new offering from SAP that allows integration scenario building in NWDShttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/A-new-offering-from-SAP-that-allows-integration-scenario-building-in-NWDS
We've been talking about SAP NetWeaver Process Integration moving to a pure Java world for some time now. Volker Stiehl, a chief product expert at SAP AG, has introduced technologies developed in to fit this strategy, including the Advanced Adapter Engine Extended (AEX), which Volker mentioned early last year in a couple of SAP Professional Journal articles (including the one linked above). The significance of AEX is that it could combine with SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management to allow for a more integrated experience regarding business processes. This year, Volker has introduced a new offering called SAP NetWeaver Process Orchestration. I introduced it in a blog post last month . In short, it's a combined installation of SAP NetWeaver BPM, SAP NetWeaver Business Rules Management (BPM), and AEX, all on one Java Virtual Machine. One of SAP NetWeaver Process Orchestration's features (with the 7.31 version, which is in Ramp-Up) is the ability to build integration scenarios wit...Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:17:01 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of January 30, 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-January-30-2012
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly Also read Field Mobility News Weekly Also read M2M News Weekly Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly Also read Mobile Health News Weekly Also read Mobility Charts Weekly Android accounted for 39 percent of the market in the final three months of last year, up from 29 percent a year earlier, Strategy Analytics said. Apple's share fell to 58 percent from 68 percent. Shipments of tablets reached 26.8 million in the quarter, up from 10.7 million a year ago. Read Original Content A study published this month by Arieso, an Atlanta firm that specializes in mobile networks, found that the Siri-equipped iPhone 4S uses twice as much data as does the plain old iPhone 4 and nearly three times as much as does the iPhone 3G. Read Original Content According to new data from NPD, tablet PC shipments are expected to grow from 72.7 million units in 2011 to 383.3 million units by 2017. For comparison purposes, worldwide PC shipments for 2011 were 352.8 million, after seeing a six percent decline in the fourth quarter. Read Original Content ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - www.clicksoftware.com/. The feature phone market is still relevant with staggering global figures that show over 70 percent of phones sold in 2011 were actually feature phones. According to Forbes, feature phones are now more profitable than smartphones. Read Original Content With its chips popping up in the iPhone and an array of other mobile devices, ARM the U.K. based company saw its pretax profit surge 45 percent to &pound;69 million ($108 million), while its sales rose 21 percent to $217 million. Read Original Content Research firm Canalys reports that Apple moved 15 million iPads and five million Macs during the last three months, which represents roughly 17 percent of all quarterly PC sales worldwide. Read Original Content After six consecutive quarterly losses LG reported an October to December operating profit of 23 billion won ($20.5 million), versus a consensus forecast of 64 billion won profit by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Read Original Content According to a newly published forecast report by Dell'Oro Group, the mobile infrastructure LTE equipment market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 45 percent over the next five years. Read Original Content Downloads from Apple's App Store reached an all-time high in December 2011 according to mobile user acquisition platform Fiksu. Read Original Content The smartphone application market for mobile healthcare will reach $1.3 billion in 2012 &ndash; up from $718 million in 2011. Read Original Content According to research firm IHS iSupply, Samsung sold 95 million smartphones last year, an increase of 278 percent from the previous year. Apple sold 93 million smartphones, followed by Nokia (77 million), Sony Ericsson (20 million) and Motorola (19 million). Read Original Content The latest results from data firm GfK show that BlackBerry was the number one selling smartphone in the British market for the second year running. It continues to dominate the market, grabbing 26.3 percent of December sales and averaging 27.7 percent through 2011. Read Original Content Kindle Fire has managed to become the first tablet based on Google's Android operating system to see demonstrable application usage in a short period, suggesting that the seven inch slate has become quite the content driver for the e-commerce giant. Read Original Content After its alliance with Microsoft, Nokia has reinforced its position in the smartphone market in the last quarter, as shares of the company soared seven percent higher. The company said that it sold 19.6 million smartphones while Analysts had predicted sales of 18.5 million. Read Original Content Google and research firm Ipsos recently came out with a study on the growing market of smartphone users and their behaviors. According to the survey, 69 percent of American smartphone owners access the mobile web at least once every day. Read Original Content Recent Articles by Kevin Benedict divThu, 02 Feb 2012 16:59:41 GMTIBM to Acquire Mobility Vendor Worklight - An Analysishttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/IBM-to-Acquire-Mobility-Vendor-Worklight-An-Analysis
IBM has jumped into the MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) competition with yesterday&rsquo;s announced intent to acquire MEAP vendor Worklight . Worklight is headquartered in New York and was founded in 2006 by CEO Shahar Kaminitz. Worklight's software supports HTML5, hybrid and native applications for smartphones and tablets with industry-standard technologies and tools. Their solutions include an Eclipse-based software IDE (integrated development environment), mobile middleware, mobile solution management and analytics. Worklight Studio competes with Appcelerator, Verivo (formerly Pyxis Mobile), Sybase Unwired Platform (SAP), Antenna, Syclo , ClickSoftware , Kony Solutions , Rhomobile (Motorola), Webalo and other mobility vendors that are experiencing rapid growth. The deal size was not disclosed by IBM or Worklight, but the Israeli website Globes ( www.globes.co.il ) reported the acquisition to be $50-60 million. Worklight raised $21 million in investment capital, fr...Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:15:25 GMTUsing Query as a Web Service (QaaWS) in Xelsisus Dashboardshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Using-Query-as-a-Web-Service-QaaWS-in-Xelsisus-Dashboards
In this Blog we look at some of the options and steps of using Query as a Web Service in Xcelsius. I also take a look at the benefits and limitations of this popular interface to external data and services. Dr. Berg The Steps to Make it Work Query as a Web Service (QaaWS) can be used as a data connection within Xcelsius. To use QaaWS as your data connection within Xcelsius: 1. Go to Data Manager and click Add -- /p p /p p a href="/dr_berg/go/gallery/item/136919732" img src="http://images.wispubs.com/insiderlearningnetwork.com/user/dr_berg/fc9aebe99b3634db83994942ac4ac4d7.jpg?v=208200" width="501" height="269" / /a /p p /p p b /b b a href="/dr_berg/go/gallery/item/136919731" img src="http://images.wispubs.com/insiderlearningnetwork.com/user/dr_berg/e69d5c357a1b587ab50344ed16bef182.jpg?v=117376" width="478" height="210" / /a /b /p p /p p a href="/dr_berg/go/gallery/item/136919728" img src="http://images.wispubs.com/insiderlearningnetwork.com/user/dr_berg/29813e7ea5fe3a1847260fd4c722d...Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:55:24 GMTMobile Tips: 10 Writing style guidelines for your mobile applicationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/February/Mobile-Tips-10-Writing-style-guidelines-for-your-mobile-application
The following tip is taken from Mukul Nagle&rsquo;s presentation &ldquo; Design SAP mobile applications for tablet devices that your users will love &rdquo; at the Mobile 2012 event, being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Feb 28-March 2. 10 writing style guidelines for your mobile application 1. Make sure to use a courteous, non-abrupt writing style 2. Ensure the use of your end user&rsquo;s terms and language, avoiding technical jargon 3. Keep short and logical labels, avoid truncation 4. Use simple and precise titles, using short words 5. Create actionable and concise messages, making sure to include sentence fragments 6. Place the most important messages at top of the screen 7. Use appropriate capitalization and punctuation 8. Use a label to name or describe parts of your UI or to provide short messages to the user. 9. A label is best suited to display a relatively small amount of text. 10. Take care to make y our labels legible. Don&rsquo;t sacrifice clarity for fancy fonts or showy...Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:11:31 GMTMobile Strategies and Situational Awarenesshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Mobile-Strategies-and-Situational-Awareness
Robert L. Bateman, author of the book, Digital War, A View from the Front Lines writes, "Situational awareness allows us to replace the wastefulness of mass operations with the extreme economy of precision operations." If you know where all of your resources are located and their availability to be used, it becomes much simpler to manage an efficient precision operation. Throughout military history some of the biggest challenges for commanders was finding both the location of their enemy, and the locations of their own armies (not to mention supplies). This resulted in huge inefficiencies due to the need to spread armies over large areas as a defense against the unknown location of an opponent. In addition, once a battle began, it was nearly impossible to accurately see and track events in real-time due to the "fog-of-war." In many ways, a similar challenge exists today inside many enterprises. It is often the case that companies will purchase equipment, parts, supplies and materia...Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:15:50 GMTEnterprise Mobility - A Business or IT Strategy?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Enterprise-Mobility-A-Business-or-IT-Strategy
In my Enterprise Mobility Survey 2011 (September 2011) I asked survey respondents the following question, " How important do you view enterprise mobility to your company's future success? " 80% said enterprise mobility was "very important" (36%) to "critical"(44%) to their company's future success. With these numbers it seems mobility is an area worthy of significant brain energy. Another survey question on the same survey asked, " What are your company's motivations for wanting to deploy mobile apps? " Here are some of the answers: 79.1% said increase productivity 48.6% said improve customer interaction and service 43.4% said reduce costs 41.7% said achieve competitive advantages The results of this survey clearly highlight how important enterprise mobility solutions are to a company's business. However, some companies are still treating enterprise mobility as if it were an IT issue. That is simply wrong thinking. Who makes competitive advantages, customer service, productivity an...Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:29:25 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Jody Sedrickhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Jody-Sedrick
I had the honor of being invited to be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Idaho Business League yesterday. It is a rare time that I get to attend an event close to home. The conference was packed, and we had a great time together discussing enterprise mobility and what it means to the businesses of Idaho. While attending the conference, I met up with Jody Sedrick, one of the founders of Zenware . Zenware develops cloud based mobile applications that are integrated with Quickbooks, a huge market! This video is an interview that I did with Mr. Sedrick. Watch the video here . Upcoming Webinar of Note: HTML 5 vs Native Mobile App Development: Practical Insights, The VDC Research Report on Mobile Development Strategy. February 2, 1 PM EST Register Here! ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter...Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:26:16 GMTWhy Michael Doane is a Firm Believer in the Wisdom of SAP Crowdshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Why-Michael-Doane-is-a-Firm-Believer-in-the-Wisdom-of-SAP-Crowds
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Talking to a single SAP user provides a detailed picture of the challenges and issues that user is facing. Perhaps those are the same challenges that your organization is facing. If so, that conversation can be very valuable. If those are not the issues you are facing, then that conversation might not be that useful. Author and consultant Michael Doane (@micdoane) of CGI is a firm believer in the "wisdom of the crowds" when it comes to establishing SAP best practices. As he told me in an exclusive interview posted here , while a snapshot of a user is nice, "clients are constantly asking me how do they fit vis-&agrave;-vis all the other clients out there." That's why Doane focuses on surveys and research of SAP users. In fact, he's undertaking one now because, "We need to refresh previous research we've done but there are also a lot of new areas for which little or no research has been done, like centers of excellence," he says. Listen to the interview...Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:40:05 GMTWhy Michael Doane is a Firm Believer in the Wisdom of SAP Crowdshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/January/Why-Michael-Doane-Is-A-Firm-Believer-In-The-Wisdom-Of-SAP-Crowds
Author and consultant Michael Doane is a firm believer in the "wisdom of the crowds" when it comes to establishing SAP best practices. In this exclusive interview, he says that while a snapshot of a user is nice, "clients are constantly asking me how do they fit vis-à-vis all the other clients out there." Listen to the interview and then take Doane's current survey The State of SAP 2012 by visiting his web site. http://www.michaeldoane.com/Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:29:00 GMTCONTEST! Show your creative side and design an Insider Learning Network t-shirthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/CONTEST-Show-your-creative-side-and-design-an-Insider-Learning-Network-t-shirt
Calling all Insider Learning Network Members! Show us your creative side and submit an Insider Learning Network- or SAP-themed T-shirt idea, slogan, or design and you could see it featured at the SAPinsider Conferences this Spring (along with your signature on the shirt)! We will be giving out these limited edition T-shirts with the winning design/slogan at the conferences. Of course, as the winner, you will get the T-shirt sent directly to you as well. It's fun, fast and easy! To participate, comment below with your idea no later than February 3. Then the Insider Learning Network Team will pick the most creative concept for the limited edition T-shirt. Please note that all comments are subject to premoderation and that no entry using copywritten or trademarked material will be selected. Good luck and may the best slogans win! EDIT: Just a reminder we are not looking for a HANA-related slogan. We are looking for a slogan to help promote Insider Learning Network. Thanks!Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:28:50 GMTU.S. Post Office and Mobile Applicationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/U-dot-S-dot-Post-Office-and-Mobile-Applications
I received a very interesting note in my post office box yesterday. Seems the USPS (United States Postal Service) has a new service called "Real Mail Notification." This service will send you a text message if you receive mail in your post office box. According to the USPS, "Your time is valuable, and now you'll know when mail has arrived." This is a great example of how mobile solutions can save time and money and increase productivity. I only get mail a couple of times a week in my PO box, but I drive in nearly every day to check it. This costs me time, money, fuel, increased vehicle maintenance and lost opportunity costs. A simple thing like a text message notification can make a difference, especially if a company has 50,000 employees and fleets of vehicles. When companies are pondering mobile strategies, it does not need to be an all or nothing effort. There are dozens of very simple and relatively inexpensive ways mobile solutions can start making a big difference. **********...Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:19:28 GMTMobile Strategies, PIOs, Optimized Intersections and Patterns of Life, Part 2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Mobile-Strategies-PIOs-Optimized-Intersections-and-Patterns-of-Life-Part-2
In Part 1 of this article, we discussed PIOs (performance impact objects) and "optimized intersections" as they relate to mobile technologies and the mobile workforces Here in Part 2 we are going to discuss "patterns of life" capabilities and how they relate to business analytics and decision making. In the intelligence community, patterns of life refers to the study or analysis of the patterns observed in a person's or object's life. For example, a building may be observed over time through the camera of a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and people can be seen entering and leaving the building at particular times. The people leaving the building drive specific vehicles and come and go from specific locations. Over the course of a month or longer, patterns and participants can become clear and this offers valuable information to the analyst. A company does not require a UAV to be able to observe "patterns of life." GPS and workforce tracking solutions, customer behaviors, data captur...Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:13:39 GMTInterview with Don Loden about BusinessObjects Data Serviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/January/Interview-With-Don-Loden-About-BusinessObjects-Data-Services
During this podcast interview, consultant Don Loden of Decision First Technologies reviews SAP BusinessObjects Data Services best practices, such designing jobs with an object-oriented point of view and when to break the rules of best practices. Loden also discusses how to improve data flow and practical ways to use Data Services as a data quality tool.Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:59:09 GMTAn international battle is brewing over cloud computinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/An-international-battle-is-brewing-over-cloud-computing
Cloud computing continues to emerge as this decade's major technological driver, and it's now becoming a diplomatic issue. Yesterday Bloomberg Businessweek reported that European countries are banding together effectively against US companies, so their cloud providers don't fall behind the way they did in areas such as mobility and search. At first it might seem like an odd fight to pick. But Europe has its reasons. US law requires cloud-stored data owned by American companies to ultimately come under American purview. As the market grows, the amount of data grows, and Europe doesn't want to be left empty handed, or constantly having to hand over information for whatever reasons the US government sees fit. And the market is growing. Already at nearly $41 billion, the cloud market in Europe looks to explode later on this decade: Europe is still a relatively small slice of the global cloud market, which may expand to $241 billion in 2020 from $40.7 billion last year, according to For...Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:47:45 GMTIntroducing SAP NetWeaver Process Orchestrationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Introducing-SAP-NetWeaver-Process-Orchestration
Business processes play a key role in a number of SAP applications, especially ones such as SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management (SAP NetWeaver BPM) and SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (SAP NetWeaver PI). But even with those solutions, companies found there was still room for improvement in the efficiency of the business processes, both from a technical implementation and integration standpoint. SAP is addressing this need by introducing a combined installation called SAP NetWeaver Process Orchestration. This option includes the two solutions above along with SAP NetWeaver Business Rules Management. In his latest SAP Professional Journal article, "Solve Business Process Implementation and Integration Problems with SAP NetWeaver Process Orchestration," SAP's chief product expert Volker Stiehl introduces this new option. The strength, Volker says, is that you can go beyond thinking of integration-centric processes (ones that are mostly automatic) and human-centric processes (o...Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:32:00 GMTHow Long is Too Long for Mobile App Development?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/How-Long-is-Too-Long-for-Mobile-App-Development
A few years ago my team was developing a massive mobile application for a food and beverage distributor. It was a mistake. The complexity of the application, basically a mobile ERP, required an extended length of development time. During this development cycle, the requirements changed weekly as our customer thought more about each workflow and business process. The complexity of this custom mobile application, developed as one large mobile app, ensured repeated lengthy debugging efforts, increased costs and length of development time. This was around 2005 and we had a lot to learn. The project was ultimately done successfully and to everyone's satisfaction, but we experienced pain and learned a great deal. Just about every company of size will have some need for custom mobile applications, however, do each of these applications need to be giant apps with long development times? I think not. The food and beverage mobile app should have been about a dozen different mobile apps. Yes,...Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:30:51 GMTWhat's Got Jon Reed So Fired Up?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Whats-Got-Jon-Reed-So-Fired-Up
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs "This is a hot-button topic for me," says Jon Reed of JonErp.com in a recent interview with Insider Learning Network. "I see a lot of irresponsible articles out there that are frankly just off base." What's got this SAP mentor and analyst so fired up? It's the trend of equating overall IT spending increases with SAP job skills demand. According to Reed, the two are not necessarily related, and linking them in reports only "gets people's hopes up in naive ways." In truth, there are "pockets" of demand for SAP skills, says Reed, which are much more specific to individual companies and not directly related to IT spending. In fact, Reed says when companies increase their IT spending, the effect may be to actually reduce the number of employees through process automation. So equating IT spending increases with any type of job creation can be "irresponsible," says Reed. That's just one of the topics that Reed addresses in his first Insider Learning Network p...Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:05:52 GMTMichael Doane answers all your SAP project questions tomorrow in this live forum!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Michael-Doane-answers-all-your-SAP-project-questions-tomorrow-in-this-live-forum
If you&rsquo;ve ever encountered Michael Doane, author of The SAP Green Book and The SAP Blue Book -- and the man who coined the phrase "Thrive After Go-Live" -- you'll know he's been a tireless evangelist for helping project teams and SAP stakeholders across businesses make the most of their technology at every phase, even long after the project rollout team has disbanded. Michael is about to release an updated version of his SAP Green Book, published by SAP PRESS, and in his recent discussions with Insider Learning Network he offers some great advice based on his years of experience with SAP customers. You can ask him your questions, too - I'll be moderating a live one-hour forum with Michael tomorrow (Thursday January 19) at 12:30pm EST . Here are my quick notes on the questions I'd like to see Michael answer during Thursday's live Q&A: - How do project teams better communicate the value of their current SAP systems -- and in measures that business stakeholders care about? Faili...Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:15:49 GMTBusiness Growth Needs Structure. Three SAP Customers Prove It.http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Business-Growth-Needs-Structure-dot-Three-SAP-Customers-Prove-It-dot
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Expand or die. It's been the mantra of many businesses because growth brings the benefits that both executives and shareholders like. But growth needs direction. It requires some structure. And the right ERP platform can provide that structure so a business achieves more from its growth than just size. This was something of an unplanned theme in the latest issue of insiderPROFILES . More SAP customers are realizing that having a centralized IT infrastructure and centralized operations can make growth much more manageable and profitable. In the cover story for the latest issue of insiderPROFILES , Hasbro's IT leaders explain that the company's geographic expansion was going well, but there were more benefit to realize. So Hasbro got its newer regions and businesses up on its SAP environment by using SAP BusinessOne and achieved economies of scale never imagined. Westinghouse Electric told a similar story . After a somewhat quiet period in its business,...Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:12:09 GMTAltering the standard SAP screen without modificationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Altering-the-standard-SAP-screen-without-modifications
One of the most prevalent technological trends in recent years has been the increasing importance of user experience. For years, users had to figure out how to travel through menu paths or remembered all kinds of troubleshooting issues. With the proliferation of simpler user interfaces in personal technology, people are now expecting the same kind of simplicity with their business technology. (Thanks, Apple.) Faisal Altaf, an ABAP consultant at DESCON Engineering, wrote about how this concept applies to SAP system in his most recent SAP Professional Journal article, "Change the Layout of a Standard SAP System Without Using Modifications" . People have been making adjustments to the SAP system's appearance for years, but they often have to use hard-coded modicifications that can do more harm than good. Faisal looks at some less-invasive enhancements that allow you to customize a standard screen to hide or show different fields, or make other selections by default. Faisal takes you t...Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:14:26 GMT2011 SCM Year in Reviewhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2012/January/2011-SCM-Year-In-Review
In this podcast, Andrea Haynes, group editor of the SAP Experts, had a chance to catch up with Ali Sarraf, managing partner at Enowa Consulting and long-time advisor for SCM Expert. Andrea asked Ali what he felt were the biggest challenges and technology shifts in the SCM space this year. Looking ahead, Ali also shared trends he expects to see in 2012 and issues he’s preparing his clients for. Listen to this podcast to hear Ali’s thoughts on globalization, Transportation Management, MII, mobility, and more.Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:18:00 GMTThree ways to impress your boss at SAPinsider events this Springhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Three-ways-to-impress-your-boss-at-SAPinsider-events-this-Spring
by Teri Chadbourne, Senior Meeting Planner 1. Save on your flights Getting a travel budget approved can be the hardest part of getting your boss&rsquo;s approval to attend any training event. Before you do the math and make your case to management, scout out some travel savings. For all of SAPinsider&rsquo;s conferences in Las Vegas and Orlando this Spring, attendees qualify for savings of up to 10% off published domestic fares on United Airlines . Call the United Airlines Meeting Desk at 1-800-521-4041 and refer to File # 582PV to seal the deal. Yes, telephones are old fashioned, but this discount is sadly not available online. To get the best bang for your buck, try a travel search engine first on that newfangled internet (think Expedia or Orbitz ) to see all your options at a glance. If United is a good choice based on your starting point, call to book at an even better fare. And don&rsquo;t forget to call out the savings when you hand your boss that expense report! (Already boo...Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:44:51 GMTMobile Apps the Front End to Big Data and Artificial Intelligencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Mobile-Apps-the-Front-End-to-Big-Data-and-Artificial-Intelligence
I wrote an article last week called, The Value in a Mobile Enterprise Solution in which I penned, " I proposed that the core value in an enterprise mobility solution is in the back end systems . The back end systems are where the business logic, business processes, big data and business analytics are primarily located. Most enterprise mobility solutions are extending back end systems. This may seem like an obvious thing, but for many it is not ." Why do I believe that? I recognize the value that real-time enterprises can gain from receiving assistance in making real-time decisions in uncertain environments. Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla writes , " The venture capital business has injected a lot of new energy and exploration for using experts and expert systems, probability and statistics, machine learning, self organizing machines and many less-discussed and some yet-undisclosed systems. Data, and big data especially hold &ldquo;truths & likely correlations... &rdquo; VCs re...Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:24:24 GMTEnterprise Mobility is Not for Everyone, Just Mosthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Enterprise-Mobility-is-Not-for-Everyone-Just-Most
A couple of months back I listened to a presentation by Sybase's VP of Mobile Solutions, Willie Jow, and later interviewed him at the Enterprise Mobility Exchange . During his presentation he emphasized that enterprise mobility is for nearly everyone in a company, not just a select few. On one of his presentation slides (see image), he listed various roles in most enterprises that can benefit by having mobile solutions: Business leaders Managers Knowledge workers Marketers Sales Plant Operators Warehouse staff Field technicians Partners Consumers I took note of this list. Why? Because in my mobile strategy consulting with large companies, they have rarely considered mobile solutions for more than a few of these categories. For example, seldom have they ever considered how their partners and suppliers could benefit from mobile solutions. However, I was consulting with a large water utility in Europe yesterday that was, in fact, planning to provide mobile solutions for their partners...Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:44:12 GMTExcerpt: Save time by downloading all your SAP Smart Styles at oncehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Excerpt-Save-time-by-downloading-all-your-SAP-Smart-Styles-at-once
Last fall, ABAP consultant Qazi Wasif Ali provided SAP Professional Journal readers with a utility for downloading SAP Smart Forms all at once, rather than having to go through the tedious, manual process of going one by one. He noted at the end of the article that the utility failed to capture any SAP Smart Styles, just the forms themselves. He recently provided a follow-up program that could capture the Smart Styles. Here is an excerpt: As an ABAP programmer, you have times when you want to download your work &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s programs, custom SAP Smart Styles, applications, enhancements, or tables &mdash; to a different local system or external media. You might need to take it to another machine or another project that could benefit from the work you&rsquo;ve developed. Let&rsquo;s take SAP Smart Styles as an example. Say you have 150 SAP Smart Styles that you wanted to move to another machine. The usual process involves downloading each SAP Smart Style individually, re...Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:25:47 GMTM2M Growth and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/M2M-Growth-and-Enterprise-Mobility
I had the privelege of interviewing RACO Wireless President John Horn this week. RACO is an M2M company ( machine to machine ) that achieved 300 percent growth in 2011. Here is an interesting statement from John, "Telehealth and telemedicine are really starting to click now. &ldquo; Aging in place &rdquo; enables people to live longer at home. In 2012 I see this market really starting to connect." John made this statement in the context of M2M or wireless devices being embedded in healthcare equipment located in the home. M2M solutions can enable remote caregivers to closely monitor the health of patients in remote locations. The machines wirelessly sends data to the caregiver so they can be reviewed without forcing the patient to come into the clinic or hospital. I have been predicting for a couple of years now that enterprise mobility solutions and M2M solutions will be converging. In the context of Network Centric Operations , it is all wireless data coming in from remote locati...Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:06:44 GMTIntroducing Content Upload Interface in SolMan 7.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Introducing-Content-Upload-Interface-in-SolMan-7-dot-1
Creating a Business Blueprint in SAP Solution Manager can time consuming, and Capgemini's Prakhar Saxena knows this all too well. In his latest Solution Manager Expert article, "How to Quickly Create Business Blueprints in SAP Solution Manager 7.1 Using Content Upload Interface," he notes that he's had projects where it's taken weeks to gather the appropriate data and upload the necessary business scenarios into Solution Manager. Prakhar found that Solution Manager 7.1 possessed a new feature, Content Upload Interface, that dramatically reduced the time involved. With this feature, you can simply ask for input from the leads of various areas regarding the business scenarios or processes. You then combine this information in the format you require. You upload the data in another format and a structure is automatically created in SAP Solution Manager 7.1. It works for different types of projects, including implementation, maintenance, upgrade, and template projects. The biggest advan...Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:54:11 GMTHTML5 Reflections on 2011 and Trends for 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/HTML5-Reflections-on-2011-and-Trends-for-2012
I was moderating a panel of mobile analyst in November and asked them what percentage of enterprise mobility applications were going to be written in HTML5 by 2013. The answers I received were 30-50%. My personal prediction is that it will be even higher, perhaps even 75%. Flash loses to HTML5 ?In the war between Flash and HTML5 for mobile video, Flash lost. Adobe gave up on Flash in November of 2011 and put its support behind HTML5.?&ldquo;Layoffs were paired with a halt to development of Flash Player for mobile browsers, with mobile Flash support limited to critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations.&rdquo; HTML5-based games included in the article, &ldquo;Zynga CTO:Four predictions for 2012&rdquo; ?Games developed using HTML5 are faster, smoother, and more responsive, says Cadir Lee, CTO of Zynga in a December 29, 2011 article for CNET. One of his predictions for 2012 is that &ldquo;open web stack will take hold for browser-based games&rdquo;.? Re...Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:24:07 GMTThe Right Way to Approach BYOD in Your Companyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/The-Right-Way-to-Approach-BYOD-in-Your-Company
By Amanda McKeon The consumerization of IT in organizations can no longer be ignored as employees are taking matters into their own hands and using personal mobile devices for work-related tasks. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by the Accenture Institute for High Performance , one in four (27%) employees surveyed worldwide regularly use personal consumer devices and applications for work-related activities (54% among IT executives). This puts many companies in an awkward position, needing to decide how exactly to give employees what they want &mdash; the ease of mobility to improve productivity &mdash; while ensuring security simultaneously; no easy undertaking. Many companies are implementing a BYOD (bring your own device) policy as opposed to providing mobile devices for their employees. This creates potential security problems since employees will be using the same device for critical business functions as well as personal tasks such as shopping. So how can compan...Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:34:36 GMTThe Best Mobile Strategies Videos of 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/The-Best-Mobile-Strategies-Videos-of-2011
I must admit that the selection is small, the video production is lacking, and these are all me, but it is the best of my Video Comments on mobile strategies from 2011. In case you successfully avoided watching these in 2011, I am shamelessly promoting them again in 2012. Kevin Benedict's Video Comments: Field Services Velocity Kevin Benedict's Video Comments: 4D Mobile Field Services Kevin Benedict's Video Comments: Mobility Without Tactics is Wasted Kevin Benedict's Video Comments: Enterprise Mobility and Real Time Decision Making Kevin Benedict's Video Comments: Mobile Data and the Real Time Enterprise Video Comments: Mobile Technologies and the Real Time Enterprise ************************************************************* div /divWed, 04 Jan 2012 16:00:09 GMTValue in Mobile Enterprise Solutionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Value-in-Mobile-Enterprise-Solution
Have you ever pondered where the primary value in an enterprise mobility solution resides? Is it in a smartphone with apps in your pocket or a tablet in your hand? Is it the wireless connection to the Internet? Is it the mobile middleware or integration to your back end systems, or is it the back end system? I proposed that the core value in an enterprise mobility solution is in the back end systems. The back end systems are where the business logic, business processes, big data and business analytics are primarily located. Most enterprise mobility solutions are extending back end systems. This may seem like an obvious thing, but for many it is not. Many people feel there is something magical about mobility and that mobile solutions, on their own, offer big value. Let's think back a few years to when many of us were carrying mobile PDAs (personal digital assistants). They were mobile and offered some value to us as individuals, but it would be hard to say they revolutionized the en...Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:37:33 GMTCurrency Translation for Cost Center Reportshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Currency-Translation-for-Cost-Center-Reports
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting The cost center reports in SAP are normally displayed in Controlling Area currency. This means that if you have several company codes that have different currencies but belong to the same controlling area, the standard cost center reports will only be displayed in the currency of that controlling area. This is okay if you only want to display the cost center reports on a consolidated level; however if you want to be able to report the cost center values in the currency of the company code that the cost center belongs to, you would need to make the necessary setting in order to do so. Firstly, you would need to set the reporting currency appropriately in your controlling user settings. To do this, go to transaction RPC0 and scroll to the tab called &ldquo;Reporting Currency&rdquo;. Here you can choose which currency you want the reports to be displayed in. If you have not made any settings in this transaction before, it is most likely that the &ldqu...Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:03:51 GMTHTML5 -What's New Christmas Week?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/HTML5-Whats-New-Christmas-Week
Software company TeleNav has developed a browser-based HTML5 app that delivers voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS navigation on most mobile devices. The service is now available for developers, and is scheduled for launch to the public in the first part of 2012. From the press release issued December 14, 2011: &ldquo;By simply adding one line of code, developers of mobile websites or of apps with local content will have a free and easy way to integrate full GPS turn-by-turn directions into their services, creating a more seamless user experience and increasing user engagement and time spent within their applications.&rdquo; For more information click here . iOS Beats Android in HTML5 Performance Evaluation A study conducted by Sencha, Inc. (www.sencha.com) shows that Apples iOS 5 wins over Google&rsquo;s Android in HTML5 browser performance. Sencha deals with frameworks used in creating web apps for HTML5. According to the study, the latest Android OS, the Ice Cream Sandwich, shows ad...Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:49:49 GMTMobile Apps and the Marriage of My Virtual and Physical Worldshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2012/January/Mobile-Apps-and-the-Marriage-of-My-Virtual-and-Physical-Worlds
Greetings Great Mobility Minds! In January 2010, I asked the world for a mobile application that would help me reduce my personal risks and improve my life experiences. Nearly 2 years later, I still do not know if this mobile solution exists. So again, I am asking the great minds of mobility to point me in the right direction if this solution does exists. If it doesn't exist, I encourage the great minds that are also great entrepreneurs to develop this product. Here again, is my original blog article, with minor edits, from 2010. I love traveling, hiking and reading good books. I enjoy growing tomatoes and pondering religious and philosophical themes. I love my iPad and iPhone. I crave Thai food. I love drinking coffee in a comfortable chair and reading the New York Times . I want a mobile application that will connect my lifestyle preferences to a map, predict my safety, and suggest locations conducive to my lifestyle choices and interests. I would like to arrive in a new city and...Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:44:23 GMTWhittle Predicts 2012 Will Mark a Return to Strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/Whittle-Predicts-2012-Will-Mark-a-Return-to-Strategy
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Doug Whittle of Whittle Consulting predicts 2012 will be the year when SAP users stop standing on the sidelines and citing the economic challenges as a reason for not moving forward and start more strategic and more visionary. Specifically for SAP users that means: 1. Adding new functionality to their SAP environments and 2. Focusing on transferring more knowledge and skills within their organizations. With more employees changing jobs and approaching retirement age, companies are going to start asking what they are doing to transfer their knowledge from more senior employees near retirement to younger employees, Whittle says. In a recent podcast, Whittle reported being "very encouraged by the questions I've been getting from clients and participants at conferences who are starting to get back into strategic planning at a much greater depth again as well. I'm very encouraged by that." Whittle also provided his outlook for super user programs in 2012 on...Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:48:00 GMTPodcast: SAP Mobility in 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/December/Podcast-SAP-Mobility-In-2011
A short podcast with Mobile Strategiest Kevin Benedict on the state of SAP Mobility in 2011.Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:22:53 GMTInsider Learning Network's gift to keep you SAP savvy in the New Yearhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/Insider-Learning-Networks-gift-to-keep-you-SAP-savvy-in-the-New-Year
Every year, with great intentions, someone gives me a gift I hate. This year, since I just had a baby, I anticipate either the Pajama Jeans or a Low-fat Cookbook (nothing says lose a little weight like loose pants and diet recipes). Here at Insider Learning Network, we have a gift for you that we know you are sure to love: 20+ hand-picked resources to keep you SAP savvy in 2012 (see list below). And, unlike that cheap bottle of wine you will most likely get, this is a gift that keeps on giving. One free membership to Insider Learning Network gives you expert-written articles and book chapters, exclusive PowerPoint presentations, podcast interviews with industry experts, and a whole lot more. Members of Insider Learning Network have thousands of tips, techniques, and lessons on how to get the most from their SAP investments, all at their fingertips. Also, to make it even easier for you, you don&rsquo;t have to weed through tons of fluff and marketing speak to get to the guts of this...Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:26:00 GMTMonitor your SAP system's base elements with CCMShttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/Monitor-your-SAP-systems-base-elements-with-CCMS
The Computing Center Management System (CCMS) has been around for quite a while, and has many monitoring features. Independent SAP Basis consultant Jim Baxter has begun a two-part series for Solution Manager Expert on setting up monitoring elements for the CCMS. The overall process involves eight steps, and his first article, "Part 1: Set Up Your SAP System to Monitor and Alert on Its Base Elements," covers the first four. It culminates in creating monitor sets based on a spreadsheet you've made of your base monitors, and then setting permissions. The figure below shows an example setup in change mode. It includes virtual nodes (marked with the gray circles) with rule nodes under them. For the full article, Solution Manager Expert subscribers can go here . For more information about Solution Manager Expert , go here .Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:37:00 GMTBPC demos, references, roadmaps etchttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/BPC-demos-references-roadmaps-etc
Hi everybody, Time and again customers, prospects and partners ask me for "hot" BPC and EPM materials and resources such as: EPM roadmap Customer references and video testimonials Demos including BPC 10.0 Performance and sizing Documentation, How-to Guides, Tips & Tricks Training Migration services from BPC MS to NW and to BPC 10.0 I promised a comprehensive collection of all these materials during the BPC bootcamps ( www.bpcbootcamp.com ) and also during the MEGA Elite ( www.elite-enablement.com ). And finally I delivered it . For roadmaps, customer referneces, demos, sizing guides etc - look no further. check out this blog www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pu... I hope you enjoy it. JensFri, 16 Dec 2011 02:48:00 GMTWrapping up 2011 and looking ahead to 2012 with Jeremy Mastershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/December/Wrapping-Up-2011-And-Looking-Ahead-To-2012-With-Jeremy-Masters
Jeremy Masters, Managing Partner at Worklogix, shares his experience throughout 2011 and looks ahead at various trends and hot topics for 2012. This podcast is a comprehensive look back at the most popular projects and challenges customers faced in 2011 and highlights some exciting trends to look forward to in the coming year.Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:43:44 GMTHow value management improves ERP implementationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/How-value-management-improves-ERP-implementations
ERP implementations have long been a source of frustration for companies, whether they're complete legacy replacements, application add-ons, or upgrades. Sometimes this frustration alters the project, keeping the business from getting the gains it needs out of the new system. In his latest article for SAP Professional Journal , "Beyond a Standard Implementation: 4 Key Elements of an ERP-Enabled Business Transformation," Sameer Page argues that project failure can come from companies approaching their implementations in the wrong way. Sameer notes: Both organic and inorganic growth demand robust systemic business processes to manage scale, size, and complexity of operations. ERP solutions offer the capability to integrate processes. For companies that already have an ERP footprint that proves to be inadequate, the only option left is to completely revamp the current business processes and supporting ERP applications. Such a strategic exercise is an initiative called ERP-enabled busi...Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:23:00 GMTWhittle's Predictions for 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/December/Whittles-Predictions-For-2012
Will SAP projects take off in 2012? Will super user programs get even more popular in 2012? Are SAP project teams doing more or less post-mortems after projects? In this ILN exclusive podcast Doug Whittle of Whittle Consulting provides his review of 2011 and his predictions for 2012. SAP project teams won’t want to miss this one!Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:18:25 GMTMy 10 Ridiculous Predictions for SAP in 2012http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/My-10-Ridiculous-Predictions-for-SAP-in-2012
By Scott Wallask , SAPexperts December is always a great time to polish the old crystal ball and peek into the New Year by making some well-thought-out predictions. I feel certain that the following 10 things will occur in 2012: SAP will truly reach &ldquo;game-changing&rdquo; status when it is announces that Angry Birds runs angrier on SAP. In a related development, kittens across the world will seek shelter . In a Bill Maher-esque move, Carmen Wong Ulrich and Miles O&rsquo;Brien will be joined by a new co-host, SAP mentor Jamie Oswald , in the television studios at Sapphire Now. As a result, the satire dial will be turned to 11. SAP&rsquo;s mobility initiative will collapse when Oracle claims in a lawsuit that Sybase allegedly pilfered all of Oracle&rsquo;s mobility software secrets. Dragging itself through the ashes of the Xcelsius name, SAP will boldly rebrand Crystal Reports as SAP Bar Graphs. Meanwhile, disgruntled BusinessObjects loyalists will form the Occupy SAP movement a...Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:20:00 GMTGetting Your Head Into the Cloudhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/Getting-Your-Head-Into-the-Cloud
by Graceanne Bowe, SAPinsider Yes, you read that right. More and more, companies running SAP are considering cloud-based architectures. The promises of reduced costs, easy scalability, and greater accessibility are tantalizing lures beckoning to companies under greater pressure than ever to do more with less. However, as everyone in technology knows, there are never any magic bullets. Cloud computing also brings with it a host of security concerns, not to mention availability fears in the event the Internet goes down. The blog To Be, or Not to Be in the Cloud&hellip;That is the Question: Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing outlines the pros and cons in greater detail. And SAPinsider&rsquo;s Cloud & Virtualization 2012 event offers different viewpoints from SAP, actual customers operating in cloud environments, and third-party experts and technology providers to help you make informed cloud decisions based on a variety of perspectives. What is your company doing to prepare for the clou...Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:02:00 GMTDecember 2011 Research on Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/December-2011-Research-on-Enterprise-Mobility
I am sitting in my leather reading chair with my coffee next to a warm, early morning fire reading about enterprise mobility. I am re-reading Aberdeen Group's Mobility in ERP 2011 , which is one of the best reports I have read all year, and Cognizant's whitepaper, Enterprise Mobile Apps . Here are some of the insights I have gleaned this morning. Aberdeen Group's paper: Best-in-Class companies spend 25% of the work week trying to access information, all the others spend almost 40% of their time trying to access information. Cognizant's paper : Millennials (i.e. generation Y) - will increasingly be unwilling to accept the idea of being bound to a desktop computer in their work lives either as employees or customers. In their minds, productivity, communications, collaborations and decision-making are all dependent on having a mobile device with which they can access their network of peers, whatever information they need, and hundreds of targeted applications. The paper goes on to say...Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:05:00 GMTDeriving Partner Functions Correctly in CO-PAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/Deriving-Partner-Functions-Correctly-in-CO-PA
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting An area which normally causes confusion in CO-PA is where a derivation needs to be made for a partner function. For those who do not know what a partner function is, it is a separate master record that is linked to a customer which represents a function that is carried out for that customer. Examples of Partner Functions are Ship-To Party, Bill-To Party, Forwarding Agent, Payer or Salesperson. These partner functions are entered in the &ldquo;Partner Function&rdquo; tab of the &lsquo;Sales Area Data&rsquo; section of the customer master, and are therefore inherited when a sales order is created for that customer. They can also be entered directly in the sales order, which will override the entry in the customer master. To create a derivation for a partner function field (for example, salesperson) you would need to go to the following configuration menu path (transaction SPRO): Controlling -Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:50:00 GMTA consideration for upgrading your portalhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/December/A-consideration-for-upgrading-your-portal
SAP NetWeaver 7.3 has included many enhancements across the board, and the latest version of the Portal is no different. Of course, this is true of any new release of any application of piece of technology. But are the benefits enough to motivate you to upgrade? This is the question evaluated by portal expert and IBM India advisory system analyst Ameya Pimpalgaonkar in his latest SAP Professional Journal article, "5 Considerations for Upgrading Your Portal." In the article, he talks about SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.3's potential impact on your overhead costs and effort, look and feel, ability to leverage the latest technologies, ease of development and enhancement, and the ability to decrease the use of hard code. I'll share his thoughts on development and enhancement opportunities below: 4. Ease of Development and Enhancement Possibilities A drag-and-drop effect in a tree element in Web Dynpro Java or Portal JSPDynpage (a development framework that can be used in SAP NetWeaver Develop...Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:19:00 GMTHTML: What's New the Week of November 28, 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/HTML-Whats-New-the-Week-of-November-28-2011
This month Adobe announced that it will no longer develop the Flash Player for mobile devices. Wow! Steve Jobs said it was not a worthy technology for the iOS platform and that Apple would not support it. Now it goes away completely. Add another correct check mark for the late Steve Jobs. Adobe did state it will release one final version of the Flash Player for Android and the BlackBerry Playbook.? Danny Winokur, Vice President and General Manager of Interactive Development at Adobe stated on the Adobe Flash Platform blog: &ldquo;HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms.&rdquo; He also indicated that &ldquo;These changes will allow us to increase investment in HTML5 and innovate with Flash where it can have most impact for the industry, including advanced gaming and premium video.&rdquo; PC Magazine, in a November 10, 2011 articl...Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:07:41 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: K2 Partnering's Fabio Paradisohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-K2-Partnerings-Fabio-Paradiso
A couple of weeks ago while I was in Singapore teaching enterprise mobility and mobile strategy workshops, I was able to spend a humid equatorial afternoon with an Italian, Fabio Paradiso from K2 Partnering discussing enterprise mobility and mobile commerce with local businesses. In this video Fabio shares some of his insights on mobility in Asia. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many o f the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:50:41 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Ingo Pirothhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Ingo-Piroth
My job is so fun. I am blessed to meet the most interesting people, and have many fascinating conversations about mobility. I am learning things every single day. In this interview, SAP's Ingo Piroth shares his insights on enterprise mobility, strategies and planning. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:44:07 GMTMotorola's RhoElements is this Strategy a Trend?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Motorolas-RhoElements-is-this-Strategy-a-Trend
In October of 2011, Motorola Solutions (MSI), the segment of Motorola that split off to focus on business solutions, acquired RhoMobile. Rhomobile is a software company that develops mobile business and government solutions, and MEAPs (mobile enterprise application platforms). The day that Motorola announced this acquisition, they also announced a new solution from RhoMobile called RhoElements, a hybrid HTML5 platform for Windows Mobile, Windows CE and Android based Motorola devices. This is an interesting strategy for a traditional manufacturer of Windows Mobile and Windows CE based barcode scanners, ruggedized smartphones, handheld and tablet computers. It appears that MSI is no longer willing to wait for Microsoft based OS answers and upgrade paths. Over the past few years, Microsoft has severely damaged the ruggedized hardware market through neglect and a refusal to provide an upgrade path for their Windows Mobile and Windows CE mobile operating systems. This has forced the rug...Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:37:52 GMTWhat Your Idea for a "Killer App" Might Actually Be Killinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/What-Your-Idea-for-a-Killer-App-Might-Actually-Be-Killing
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Before those of you in the U.S. leave the office today and hit the highway on the worst day ever to hit the highway, you're probably going to want to check the traffic. And you'll pull out your mobile device of choice -- iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc. -- open up your favorite traffic app and check it out. Even if you don't have a traffic app (first tell me where you live so I can move to this magical place that has no traffic) you can download one in a minute and be on your way. Or not, depending on what the app says. That's mobility. That's not ENTERPRISE mobility, it's mobility. I raise the point because I hear from more and more IT organizations that consumer mobile apps are inspiring more enterprise users to rush down to their IT organizations and request new enterprise apps for their business units. And instead of improving the pace of mobility it may in fact be slowing the mobility projects underway. Just because you can download an app in 53...Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:58:14 GMTInterview with NIMBL's Michael Pytel on SAP Solution Manager 7.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/November/Interview-With-NIMBLs-Michael-Pytel-On-SAP-Solution-Manager-7-1
I spoke with NIMBL consultant Michael Pytel about SAP Solution Manager 7.1, with a specific emphasis on project administration and management. Ask Michael your questions on Solution Manager 7.1 in a live Q&A in the IT Forum on November 30 at 12:30 pm EST. For more details and to register, visit http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/SolutionManager7.1Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:18:29 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: K2 Partnering's Patrick Carrollhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-K2-Partnerings-Patrick-Carroll
Patrick Caroll is an industry veteran and mobility expert that has spent time in his career at SAP, Vivido Labs and other large high tech product and services companies. This last week he was my Asia travel partner, event manager and "minder" ( A person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something. ~ Wikipedia). We conducted a series of workshops on enterprise mobility, and mobile strategies in Japan and in Singapore. We met with folks from SAP, IBM, Danone, FujiFilm, Cognizant, Novartis, GAP Japan, Accenture, British Telecom, Spansion Appio Labs, NEC and many other companies. Patrick does not normally wear the beginnings of a mustache, although with 6 or 7 months I am sure it would look good. He is participating in the Movember campaign during the month of November to raise awareness and funds for male cancer initiatives such as prostate cancer. In this video Patrick Caroll discusses these workshops a...Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:16:08 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: K2 Partnering's Mark Stevensonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-K2-Partnerings-Mark-Stevenson
first showed me around some of the best food stands in Singapore, and then was nice enough to allow me to interview him about his versatile Samsung Galaxy. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:12:55 GMTWhat's new with BW 7.3: Q&A with Dr. Berg (transcript)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Whats-new-with-BW-7-dot-3-QA-with-Dr-dot-Berg-transcript
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" /pMon, 21 Nov 2011 21:39:12 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Jeff Wallace in Tokyohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Jeff-Wallace-in-Tokyo
I had the opportunity to sit down with Cognizant's AVP of Mobility, Jeff Wallace earlier this week in Tokyo and ask him about enterprise mobility and what he is seeing in the market. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:38:34 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Mikie Nomahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Mikie-Noma
This week I presented several enterprise mobility workshops in Tokyo. In this interview I corner K2 Partnering's Mike Noma, a participant in one of our Tokyo workshops, and ask him what he learned. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:34:21 GMTReporting on Enterprise Mobility from Singaporehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Reporting-on-Enterprise-Mobility-from-Singapore
Early this morning (2 AM) I landed in Singapore, took a taxi to my hotel and slept for a few hours. I got out of bed at 6 AM and walked around the city as the sun rose. Later in the day, I had the pleasure of conducting a workshop on enterprise mobility to a full house in the Screening Room which is not far from Singapore's China Town. The weather was hot and humid today, but there was no rain until late in the afternoon. My traveling companions said we could walk to the workshop venue, but a mile walk in this humidity would have left us dripping in sweat so we opted for a taxi ride. It was great to be guided by Patrick Carroll on this trip as he grew up in Singapore and attended school here. The event was organized and sponsored by the good folks at K2 Partnering and it was well attended with folks from SAP, IBM, British Telecom, Johnson Controls, Cognizant, Spansion, Kulicke and Soffa and many others attending. We had a lively crowd that was willing to ask questions and share exp...Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:24:40 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Webalo's Rob Edenzonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Webalos-Rob-Edenzon
In this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series I interview Webalo's Rob Edenzon on enterprise mobility in the cloud, and new ways of implementing mobile solutions in hours rather than weeks or months. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:16:10 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Exelon's Ted Johnsonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Exelons-Ted-Johnson
This is a very interesting interview with Ted Johnson from Exelon. Ted is responsible for supporting the implementations and operations of mobile solutions in field services. He has a unique perspective on what it takes to manage and maintain a large scale roll-out. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:12:45 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Printek's Avery Tabronhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Printeks-Avery-Tabron
For many mobile workers, having a good mobile printer is essential to their job. In this segment of the Mobile Expert Video Series , I interview mobile printing expert Avery Tabron on the latest developments and trends in mobile printing. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:48:26 GMTReporting from Tokyo on Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Reporting-from-Tokyo-on-Enterprise-Mobility
This week I am in both Tokyo and in Singapore leading workshops on enterprise mobility. K2 Partnering organized these workshops to help educate companies on mobility. On Monday we conducted a workshop to a full house in the Century Court Marunouchi , which is the building General McArthur used during the rebuilding and reconstruction years following WWII. It is located directly across the street from the Imperial Palace grounds. It seems that in Japan mobility is very advanced at the consumer level, but not so much in the enterprise. I met with folks from Danone (yogurt-CPG), Gap (retail), Fujifilm, Novartis, Accenture, SAP, Cognizant and many others during this event. Yesterday afternoon I had the privilege of meeting with the SAP Telecom business unit for APJ and the enterprise mobility folks in their downtown Tokyo office. What an amazing view and great teams! They are seeing a huge demand for enterprise mobility across Asia and are very actively recruiting more people to join t...Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:51:17 GMTPerform SDA analysis as part of reverse business process documentationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Perform-SDA-analysis-as-part-of-reverse-business-process-documentation
Business Blueprints are a vital piece of the Solution Manager puzzle. Providing the detail of all your business processes, it is a fundamental part of your using Solution Manager. But what happens if your processes are changing, or if you're installing Solution Manager for the first time with 7.1. With the latest release comes reverse business process documentation (RBPD) functionality. SAP partner IBIS provides content to SAP Enterprise Support, SAP Product Support for Large Enterprises (PSLE) and SAP MaxAttention Customers that's available for download. Once downloaded, you can use it to evaluate your system and construct your business processes as a result of how your business actually runs. In her latest Solution Manager Expert article, "Automate Your Business Blueprint Using RBPD and the Solution Documentation Assistant in SAP Solution Manager 7.1," IBIS America's Marci Braybrooks explains the seven-step process for setting this up in your system . Below is an excerpt of the t...Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:10:22 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Freedomone Mobile's Pierre Paul Samsonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Freedomone-Mobiles-Pierre-Paul-Samson
In this interview Pierre Paul Samson and I discuss Freedomone Mobile's new "context" aware mobile solution, its market and how if offers value. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:54:49 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: GE Healthcare's Jeff Hunthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-GE-Healthcares-Jeff-Hunt
I love discovering new enterprise mobility ROIs (return on investments), and Jeff Hunt with GE Healthcare provides some very interesting ones and their values in this video interview. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:41:30 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adhlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Dr-dot-Ahmed-El-Adhl
In this video interview, SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl shares his thoughts on enterprise mobility strategies, and what companies should be focused on to succeed. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:38:55 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: ClickSoftwares Dmitri Krasikhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-ClickSoftwares-Dmitri-Krasik
I had the chance last week to sit down and interview Dmitri Krasik with ClickSoftware about some of their HTML5 implementations within the utility industry. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:12:41 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Ingo Pirothhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Ingo-Piroth
My job is so fun. I am blessed to meet the most interesting people, and have many fascinating conversations about mobility. I am learning things every single day. In this interview, SAP's Ingo Piroth shares his insights on enterprise mobility, strategies and planning. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:01:09 GMTCan SAP create a true mobility ecosystem?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Can-SAP-create-a-true-mobility-ecosystem
By Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH In early 2008 I signed up for two different microblogging platforms: Twitter and Pownce . Twitter was the originator of the rapid fire social networking platform. Pownce was founded by tech wunderkind Kevin Rose (of Digg fame) specifically to improve on what Twitter had started. Pownce offered several features Twitter did not, including discussion tracking, image uploads, and group contact lists. But Twitter had already grabbed a few million users, many of whom were highly active technorati. By the end of 2008, Pownce was dead and Twitter was on its way to global stardom and exploding adoption. The ecosystem had spoken: Twitter was king. Ecosystems are powerful growth engines, which is why big companies invest so much in their care and feeding. SAP has proven especially adept lately at nurturing its ecosystem of partners and users through initiatives like SAP EcoHub and the SAP Community Network . Now SAP is expanding that effort to support its pus...Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:58:11 GMTTrain your end users with simple formshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Train-your-end-users-with-simple-forms
Back in September I introduced you to a training article we ran in SAP Professional Journal . It showed you the value of training end users by forcing them to make mistakes in a demo system -- and showing them the results of their mistakes. The theory goes that such action would better stick with the users than training them the right way to do things and hoping they remember, but remain unaware of the full consequences of any missteps. The author of that article , SAP trainer AbduNaser Shhub, is back with another training article , this time focusing on alternate methods of training. It's not about errors, but rather about showing you ways you can train users without having access to the SAP system. Naser shows that you can create simple forms that replica te common SAP screens, and then allow users to become familiar with these forms so they are not overwhelmed by the multitude of icons, buttons, drop-downs, and fields that often clutter SAP screens. In the excerpt below, Naser c...Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:00:30 GMTMost frequent SAP change control technology topics at SAPPHIRE NOW - Concern No 5: Cost to implementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Most-frequent-SAP-change-control-technology-topics-at-SAPPHIRE-NOW-Concern-No-5-Cost-to-implement
In recent articles, we have been discussing the five most frequent SAP change control technology topics of discussion brought up with the team at RSC's &lsquo;Simplifying SAP Change Control&rsquo; booth at SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando 2011. To recap, these were, ease of use, degree of automation, enforceability, ease of configuration and costs to implement. In this issue we drill down into the final topic, &lsquo;cost to implement&rsquo; and discuss the various elements to consider in evaluating the effort and cost of implementation of an SAP change control technology Topic 5: Cost to Implement Cost to implement was the final of the five most frequent topics of discussion raised to our booth staff by those interested in or considering SAP change control software. The cost to implement discussions came about from those concerned about embarking upon an open ended change control software implementation project without fully understanding the costs they may face or fully understanding when th...Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:08:16 GMTAre You Training Your SAP Users Effectively?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Are-You-Training-Your-SAP-Users-Effectively
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs As quickly as SAP technology is changing, so too are the best practices for TRAINING SAP users. In short, if you're using the same training strategy for mobile and HANA you used for your first SAP rollout 10 years ago, you're probably missing out on some really useful tools and strategies. I had an engaging discussion with SAP's Kerry Brown recently about training SAP end-users ON and WITH new technologies. To find out more, I'd encourage you to listen to Kerry's insights here: Training Tips for New Technologies: Q&A with Kerry Brown of SAP Education As questions occur to you while you're listening to the podcast, write them down and ask Kerry during a live Q&A here on the Insider Learning Network on Wednesday . You can register for that here.Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:24:08 GMTIntegrating SAP Solution Manager and ARIS Business Architecthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Integrating-SAP-Solution-Manager-and-ARIS-Business-Architect
When I was at TechEd back in September, I had a great chat with D. Russell Sloan of IBM Global Business Services and Lori Sanders of Enowa Consulting. Russell is our most prolific author at Solution Manager Expert , and Lori is one of our technical advisors, helping shape the direction of our content. One thing they emphasized to me was the popularity of synchronizing ARIS Business Architect with SAP Solution Manager. Despite how common it is in the marketplace, there wasn't much information on the process out there. Luckily for us, Russell knows all the ins and outs of integrating the two solutions correctly. By making them function properly and share information, you can see more ROI out of both solutions. Russell takes you through the technical integration of the two in "Synchronize SAP Solution Manager with ARIS Business Architect to Empower Your Organization's Business Process Management." He mostly sticks to technical concepts, but he does look into process models a bit at th...Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:12:41 GMTThe New insiderPROFILES App (or What Mobility Means to Me)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/The-New-insiderPROFILES-App-or-What-Mobility-Means-to-Me
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I was watching the umteenth biographical special on Steve Jobs this weekend and no matter how many times I see the story of technology play out in front of me, I'm still amazed to think that in my life, I have been impressed equally by the Apple II and the iPhone 4. I watched it all happen right before my eyes, but it still just astounds me. Even the way the story is told on TV is a reflection of how technology has impacted various industries. The early days are chronicled mostly in still photos of big mainframes while the recent technologies are highlighted in endless video clips. First online and now mobile technologies have changed almost every field, including ours, the publishing field. We digitized the printing process. We brought our content online. And now we're bringing our content mobile. (Insert trumpet fanfare here). This week, insiderPROFILES magazine launches its mobile app . You can read all about it here , but in a nutshell, it's a mobi...Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:23:33 GMTHow to involve SMEs and business reps in a data migration projecthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/How-to-involve-SMEs-and-business-reps-in-a-data-migration-project
Any SAP project is a complex, time-consuming initiative. Data migration projects are no exception. They involve using members of both the business and IT, ensuring that technical features can match up with business requirements, all without disrupting the business. In his SAP Professional Journal article, "Develop Roles and Responsibilities Specific to a Data Migration Project," Infosys lead consultant Rama Chemudupati explains his specific experiences on a recent data migration project. He outlines the different roles they used to meet the business' needs, and how they were able to reduce the number of players in the project without overburdening resources. Part of his article details the involvement of subject matter experts and business reps in the project. Below is an excerpt from the article, outlining their involvement as well as the time required from them at different stages. What Precisely Their Role Is There are seven key aspects to the SME or business rep role: Understan...Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:36:37 GMTLessons Learned from Early Mobile Implementations - The Dos and Don'tshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Lessons-Learned-from-Early-Mobile-Implementations-The-Dos-and-Donts
Day 1 at the SAPinsider mobility seminar also included a great session session delivered by Adolf Allesch entitled "Making a Compelling Case for Mobility." Or, as I would have titled it, "How to Sell Mobility to Your Boss and Colleagues and Deliver on Everything You Promised." Adolf ended an incredibly informative session with a list of lessons from early adopters: the dos and the don'ts. Some of dos included: - Hold a contest to identify new app opportunities - Have a Mobile Center of Excellence, with a sponsor - Use a visual modelling tool (Adolf demo'd iRise, which is very cool, but there are many others) - Confine BYOD to a narrow set of devices and base configurations - Define a basket of mobile objects you can leverage - Globalize your apps; scale helps drive ROI (for example, translate your apps into as many languages as your company uses) The don'ts were an equally long list, and included some of the following: - Picking the wrong user group for pilots or scaled rollouts -...Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:53:36 GMTMobility News Weekly - Week of October 31, 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobility-News-Weekly-Week-of-October-31-2011
The Mobility News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to enterprise mobility that I run across each week. I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends. Also read Field Mobility News Weekly Also read Medical Mobility News Weekly Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly Also read M2M News Weekly Also read Mobility Charts Weekly A UK man, born without his left forearm has become the first person to have a smartphone dock embedded in his prosthetic limb. Read Original Content VeriFone Systems Inc. acquired Global Bay Mobile Technologies, a mobile retail solutions provider that helps retailers use alternative payment devices -- such as iPads -- as payment vehicles. Read Original Content Nokia&rsquo;s chief executive said this week that the company will re-enter the U.S. smartphone market in early 2012 with the introduction of devices running Microsoft&rsquo;s Windows Phone for multiple U.S. carriers, according to media reports. Read Original Content ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - www.clicksoftware.com/. RIM has fallen to $18.91, below the book value per share of $18.92 at the end of last quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Book value comprises a company&rsquo;s assets including cash, inventories, real estate and intellectual property minus its liabilities. Read Original Content HTC has taken the lead in the U.S. smartphone race. According to research firm Canalys, HTC had a stellar third quarter, claiming more than a quarter of the U.S. market, and shipping more smartphones than either Apple or Samsung. Read Original Content By 2016 BlackBerry and Windows Phone corporate smartphone shipments will be on equal footing with 25 percent market shares. Ovum's forecast of the enterprise smartphone market shows the market share of BlackBerry devices in the corporate arena will remain stagnant at 25 percent from 2011 to 2016. Read Original Content Kantar Worldpanel ComTech claims that in the 12 weeks ending October 2, 2011, iOS market share in the UK was 18.5 percent, whereas Android was more than two-and-a-half times that -- 49.9 percent of all new smartphone sales. Apple's share at this time last year was 32.9 percent, compared to 28.8 percent for Android. Read Original Content Samsung Electronics passed Apple to become the world's largest smartphone maker in the third quarter. According to estimates from IHS iSuppli, Samsung shipped 27.3 million smartphones in the third quarter, up 43.7 percent from the second quarter. Apple's shipments declined over the same period from 20.3 million to 17.1 million iPhones. Read Original Content Between December 2010 and October 2011, Safari's share of mobile browsing use rose from 49.17 percent to a crushing 62.17 percent. That means three out of five devices surfing the mobile Web are doing so via Apple's mobile browser. This figure, however, includes not only the Apple iPhone, but the iPad and the iPod Touch, as well. Read Original Content The worldwide mobile phone market grew 12.8 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2011, as smartphone growth declined in key mature markets, according to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. Read Original Content Apple&rsquo;s iPhone is facing stiff competition from cheaper smartphones in China. Low-priced smartphones from companies like Huawei Technologies and ZTE are finally becoming more common in China, a shift that will unlock a new market for traditionally expensive smartphones and boost competition for foreign devices like Apple's iPhone. Read Original Content The HP Veer from AT&T bucks the current trend of bigger is better. At 2.2 inches wide by 3.3 inches tall by 0.6 inches thick, and weighing only 3.63 ounces, the Veer is tiny by today's standards. Read Original Content Motorola Mobility Holdings has announced a net loss of $32 million, or $0.11 a share, for the third quarter of 2011. This is a smaller loss than the $34 million for the same quarter last year, when the company was still part of Motorola Inc. before the company split in January. Read Original Content Nokia Corp. retained its leadership on the market of mobile phones in the third quarter as sales of smartphones in third quarter 2011 slowed down. Read Original Content Mobile gift cards -- the "cooler, more sophisticated and smarter cousin to the gift card," according to one expert -- are simply gift cards consumers can use on their smartphones. They made a big splash in 2011, with retail giant Starbucks leading the way. Read Original Content divThu, 03 Nov 2011 14:35:43 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Forrester's Christian Kanehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Forresters-Christian-Kane
This week I am serving as the Chairman of the Enterprise Mobility Exchange in Las Vegas. In this role, I have had the opportunity to interview many mobility experts. I will be publishing these interviews over the next week. In this first interview, I ask Research Analyst Christian Kane with Forrester his thoughts on the current and future state of the rugged handheld computer market. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobil ity analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:34:12 GMTDay 1 at the SAPInsider Mobile Seminar- Getting started with your mobile strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Day-1-at-the-SAPInsider-Mobile-Seminar-Getting-started-with-your-mobile-strategy
Greetings from Las Vegas! The mobile seminar being put on by SAPInsider kicked off this morning with a fantastic session delivered by Adolf Allesch from IBM on building your mobile strategy. With the constantly evolving mobile market, it has been a trying task for customers to develop an enterprise wide mobile strategy that they can re-use as their use of mobile applications expands and increases. Adolf went into a great discussion about some of the key considerations organizations need to take into account when building its strategy. As Adolf put it, &ldquo;There are 9 key considerations every organization needs to factor into its strategy&rdquo;. These included: making sure your mobile applications engages users, correctly managing your mobile business processes, selecting the correct hardware and software, choosing a middleware platform and understanding how this integrates with current applications, learning how to develop and test your applications, implementing corporate wide...Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:45:35 GMTHello from Las Vegas and Managing your SAP Projects, Outsourcing in your SAP Environment, and Reporting & Analytics 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Hello-from-Las-Vegas-and-Managing-your-SAP-Projects-Outsourcing-in-your-SAP-Environment-and-Reportin
Day one is more than half over and so far the event has been a great success! The jumpstarts yesterday were very well attended with Dr. Bjarne Berg&rsquo;s jumpstart session on &ldquo;Guidelines and criteria to choose the right tool for your reporting, analysis, and data visualization needs&rdquo; being the most well attended session of the day. The conference orientation sessions were also well attended with this being many people first time at these events. Attendees asked questions related to CPE and PDU credits, networking, and Ask the Experts. If you are at the conference and are reading this and have similar questions please come by the registration desk for information and to pick up CPE and PDU information! The conference keynote sessions kicked-off the conference this morning with Sanjay Poonen talking about Business Analytics and Gen-Y and Ross Wainwright talking about simple steps you can take for better return and more innovation from your next SAP project. Tomorrow wil...Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:12:03 GMTRethinking the Ruggedized Mobile Devicehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Rethinking-the-Ruggedized-Mobile-Device
I've been listening in on our Mobile Strategies for SAP Customers seminar this week, and a point that comes up repeatedly with mobile service applications is the need for ruggedized devices. You've seen the pictures - tablets that look like they took their design cues from the Hummer, with padding, hard keyboards, and waterproofing. The extra armor on these devices is supposed to protect them from shock, liquids, and all manner of other issues that may come up on a job site. These devices, however, come with a hefty price tag - often running into the thousands of dollars. A consumer device, by contrast, often sells for half, a quarter, or even less of that price (witness the Kindle Fire). The question then, is whether such ruggedized devices are worth the investment. IBM's Adolf Allesch, who is presenting several sessions at the seminar, told the audience that in his experience, service technicians treat a consumer device like a consumer device - carefully. A device that can surviv...Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:49:35 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Baseplan's Nigel Hammondhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Baseplans-Nigel-Hammond
On a cold, wet and windy day last week in Sydney, Australia I was able to step out onto a pier in Sydney harbor and interview Baseplan Software's Nigel Hammond about enterprise mobility, the equipment rental industry and asset management. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of th e companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:47:26 GMTExcerpt: Zero client quick deployment allows you to view invoices without external software installationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Excerpt-Zero-client-quick-deployment-allows-you-to-view-invoices-without-external-software-installat
Here is an excerpt from the SAP Professional Journal article "Set Up Your SAP System to View Invoices Without Deploying External Software." In it, author and PetSmart SAP Architect Pandari Kubendran explores the different technologies to view invoices, and how his method of deployment allows users who need different levels of access to view or edit invoices as needed. Zero client quick deployment is the best way to provide the capability for a quick, easy deployment to all users that need to view the scanned images, anywhere, any time. Access is controlled using the SAP authorization mechanism, thus providing information only to those users who need it. I&rsquo;ll go into the zero client quick deployment option in more detail by first showing you how to configure this strategy into your system using an example vendor invoice document. Then I&rsquo;ll show you how this document looks in a variety of viewers so you can see the functionality available to different kinds of users. Zero...Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:06:05 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Powercor's David Weedonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Powercors-David-Weedon
In this interview David Weedon, Business Implementation Manager, with SAP customer and electrical power distributor Powercor , shares how they have mobilized different segments of their field services operations. Their core business is to manage the poles, wires and equipment that deliver electricity to homes and businesses in Melbourne and through central and western Victoria. They are responsible for the quality and reliability of their customers&rsquo; power supply. David shares details of their implementations, ROIs and what they plan to do next in this video. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, co...Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:47:46 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Futurist Craig Rispinhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Futurist-Craig-Rispin
I had the opportunity last week to hear Futurist Craig Rispin speak at the Field Mobility Summit 2011 in Sydney, Australia where I was also speaking. I was able to meet up with Craig after his presentation and ask him where he saw the future of enterprise mobility heading. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:44:54 GMTIs Technology a Job Creator or Job Eliminator?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/November/Is-Technology-a-Job-Creator-or-Job-Eliminator
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Blogger's note: This is NOT an anti-technology blog post. This is a review of a talk given by an author who has written a very thought-provoking book. Hopefully it will provoke some thoughts from you as well. The domain of human workers is shrinking as the domain of technology expands, automating more manual processes across a variety of industries. It's one of the realities of the economy we have created and the prevailing concept of a new book called Race Against The Machine : How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy written by MIT&rsquo;s Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson. In a presentation to a group of attendees in Boston today, McAfee described the book's primary arguments, pointing out that while the digital revolution has been good for overall economic growth, there is "no economic law that states a growing economy rises all boats." And while a select...Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:38:14 GMTBuying Standard Xelsisus Dashboards - What Should be Included?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Buying-Standard-Xelsisus-Dashboards-What-Should-be-Included
In this blog we look at what is required to buy standard Xcelsius dashboards off-the-shelf and implement these in your organization. In doing so, we look at some of the design features you may want to require in your toolset. By Dr. Berg Background Some companies have started to ask, why they cannot simply buy &lsquo;standard&rsquo; Xcelsius dashboards and customize them, instead of starting special projects, writing functional specs and plan for lengthy project schedules. The answer is that few of standard options exist. Actually, most of what is available is not targeted towards the SAP and BW landscapes. Therefore, the fields on &lsquo;standard&rsquo; dashboards may not be available in your BW system, and may require complex transformation, or query logic, that slows down the performance of the dashboard so much that the standard dashboards are no longer useful. So what should you look for? Standard Dashboard Features to Look for: Product Breadth Figure 1: Sales Order Dashboard...Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:08:57 GMTSAP costumes your little trick-or-treaters will enjoyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/SAP-costumes-your-little-trick-or-treaters-will-enjoy
By Scott Wallask , SAPexperts Those of you celebrating Halloween on Monday may want to know about some cool SAP-themed costumes that I&rsquo;ve run into this year: HANA Man &ndash; Similar to the late Charlton Heston&rsquo;s spin as The Omega Man , HANA Man speeds (really speeds) around in a cool car, trying to collect as much candy as possible and then returns home to quickly sort it by weight, color, and any other useful characteristic. Only the rich kids can afford this costume. Mighty Xcelsius &ndash; A battle-weary warrior seeking to reclaim his lost name, the Xcelsius costume inspires many loyal trick-or-treaters to follow him around the neighbor extolling his virtues. McSnabe &ndash; This get-up takes a pair of trick-or-treaters to make it work because McSnabe is a two-headed giant, with one face resembling SAP Co-CEO Bill McDermott and the other bearing a likeness to his counterpart, Co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe. (Perhaps if you added Vishal Sikka&rsquo;s face to this costume,...Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:30:09 GMTTraining Tips for New Technologies: Q&A with Kerry Brown of SAP Educationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/October/Training-Tips-For-New-Technologies-Q-A-With-Kerry-Brown-Of-SAP-Education
New technologies like mobile, HANA and analytics require new user training strategies. Listen in as Kerry Brown, VP of Enablement at SAP Education, provides tips and strategies for training users on the latest technologies and how your SAP organization can streamline its educational processes.Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:25:52 GMTMultilevel categorization: A new feature in SAP Solution Manager 7.1 Application Incident Managementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Multilevel-categorization-A-new-feature-in-SAP-Solution-Manager-7-dot-1-Application-Incident-Managem
As I've discussed a number of times in this space since TechEd, there are lots of new features in SAP Solution Manager 7.1. The new release in many ways represents a completely rethought concept of the Solution Manager application. One area with many new features is Application Incident Management. Application Incident Management in 7.1 represents a major upgrade in incident management and messaging capabilities over prior releases. Enowa Consulting's Nathan Williams tackles 10 of the most prominent, beneficial features of AIM in his latest article for Solution Manager Expert . Subscribers can see all ten, including screenshots to show the difference in appearance in 7.1, but I've included an excerpt below about one of them: multilevel categorization. h2 span style="color: #000080;" strong /strong /span /h2 p span style="color: #000080;" strong /strong /span /p p span style="color: #000080;" a href="/scottpriest/go/gallery/item/136427987" span style="color: #000080;" img src="http://images.wispubs.com/insiderlearningnetwork.com/user/scottpriest/073a02cf84337f91500f352926393442.gif?v=77400" width="400" / /span /a /span /p p br / span style="color: #000080;" /span /p p span style="color: #000080;" /span br / br / em strong a href="http://www.solutionmanagerexpert.com" target="_blank" /a /strong /em strong a href="/go/publication/article/10%20Brand-New%20Application%20Incident%20Management%20Features%20in%20SAP%20Solution%20Manager%207.1?article_id=6170&pub_id=11" target="_blank" /a /strong em strong a href="http://www.solutionmanagerexpert.com" target="_blank" /a /strong /em strong a href="http://www.solutionmanagerexpert.com/search.cfm?q=nathan+williams" target="_blank" /a /strong /pThu, 27 Oct 2011 14:42:48 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Vivint's Scott Taylorhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Vivints-Scott-Taylor
I had the privilege of interviewing mobility and field services expert Scott Taylor from Vivint today. Scott was speaking at the Field Mobility Summit 2011 along with me in Sydney, Australia this week. Vivint Inc. is a leading provider of home technology services in North America. Vivint's technology-based platform integrates a wide range of wireless features and components that deliver simple, affordable home automation and advanced security packages. Scott and his team have deployed many mobile solutions, for many different groups inside Vivint, and for their retail customers. Vivint has received many industry and analyst awards for their implementation of enterprise mobility solutions. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform...Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:25:00 GMTVisualizing SAP: Mobile Applicationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Visualizing-SAP-Mobile-Applications
By Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH Today's installment of "Visualizing SAP" covers the landscape of SAP mobile applications. Obviously this is the product set many analysts see expanding most rapidly over the next few years. It would be interesting to revisit this graphic next year to see what kind of progress SAP has made. Click the image for a full-size version. Click the links below for the other visualizations in this series: Industry Solutions SAP BusinessObjects SAP Core Business Applications &nbsp;Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:48:36 GMTMeet the SAP Experts in Las Vegashttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Meet-the-SAP-Experts-in-Las-Vegas
Meet The Experts from SAP Projects, Reporting & Analytics and Outsourcing 2011 SAP Booth #320 Visit with the SAP services and solution experts in the SAP booth. Click here for scheduled discussion times where you can meet with our experts on these topics. Take advantage of the broad expertise available here during lunch, breaks and the Solutions Showcase to get your questions answered, your SAP solution IQ increased, and help your business to Run Better. Join the conversation at the SAPinsider events in Las Vegas with SAP, WIS and conference and seminar attendees. Follow #Outsourcing2011, #Projects2011 and #Reporting2011 on Twitter and get breaking event news, session updates and hear what others think. See your messages highlighted on the monitors throughout the event by tweeting your thoughts to these hashtags.Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:43:16 GMT3 things you need for creating custom Data Dictionary objectshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/3-things-you-need-for-creating-custom-Data-Dictionary-objects
In a previous Solution Manager Expert article , D. Russell Sloan of IBM Global Business Services showed how you could use custom document attributes to improve your SAP Solution Manager reporting. Through the process of putting that article together, we thought it might be good to explain the actual process of creating the custom elements of these document attributes themselves. These elements include Data Dictionary objects such as custom tables and fields. Originally, we planned to feature this as a sidebar, but the topic expanded to a point where we felt it needed to be an article in its own right. That article, "Create Custom Tables and Fields for Attributes," is now available in the Solution Manager Expert knowledgebase. To be able to move forward with the process he explains , you need three things. 1. A developer key. If you don't have one, you can get it from your technical team. 2. Developer access rights in your Solution Manager system. 3. Follow your project standards fo...Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:49:49 GMTVisualizing SAP: Industry Solutionshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Visualizing-SAP-Industry-Solutions
By Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH Our third installment of the "Visualizing SAP" series covers the more than 400 applications within the set of SAP industry solutions. Each application is mapped to at least one of the 24 industries SAP serves through these specialized packages. Some components are mapped to multiple industries (you'll notice a lot of overlap between the SAP for Retail and SAP for Wholesale Distribution packages, for example). Click on the image for a full-size version About this visualization: Created in NodeXL using Harel-Koren fast multiscale layout, with manual tweaking to avoid overlapping labels. 425 total nodes. Previous Visualizing SAP images: SAP Core Business Applications The SAP BusinessObjects PortfolioTue, 25 Oct 2011 14:24:31 GMTIs Your Boss Ready to be the Next CEO?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Is-Your-Boss-Ready-to-be-the-Next-CEO
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Pop Quiz: Can you name a company outside the technology sector that has as its current CEO someone that came up through IT? (Not sure I could without Google's help). It's rare. But there are a few indicators that suggest the continuing value shown by both IT products, like ERP systems, and IT professionals could vault more IT professionals into the C-suite. Okay, here's some data for those who require it before forming opinions on such matters. According to this survey from CA Technologies, 55% of CIOs see their current role as gateways to general management positions. And 44% of them think CEO is an attainable position. The CA survey goes on to say: "As the CIO's focus and responsibilities expand to include strategic management of core business functions, so the CEO's focus when selecting a successor should widen to consider the possibility of transitioning your CIO into a central management role. This may be progression to COO, where they can gain ad...Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:51:36 GMTVisualizing the SAP BusinessObjects portfoliohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Visualizing-the-SAP-BusinessObjects-portfolio
By Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH This installment of my visualization series covers the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio (last week I posted a visualization of SAP's core business applications ). As with last week's image, this was done by importing the product names (via spreadsheet) into a NodeXL file. Once again, the product names are grouped hierarchically to make the tree more readable. I'm currently working on the SAP industry solutions visualization, which is quite the task. I should have that one ready for tomorrow.Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:49:00 GMTExcluding Specific Cost Centers from Cost Center Reportshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Excluding-Specific-Cost-Centers-from-Cost-Center-Reports
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting The cost center accounting module has several great reports that can be used to analyze the plan, target and actual costs, broken down by cost elements in a particular period or range of periods. These reports are normally satisfactory to most users due to their flexibility (you can report on one or many cost centers and groups) and detail (you can drill down into each cost element line to find the individual transactions that make up that line) and they can be found in the below menu path: Accounting -Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:10:42 GMTHow to Make Sense of Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/How-to-Make-Sense-of-Enterprise-Mobility
By Amanda McKeon Enterprise mobility is a pressing priority as end users are becoming more vocal about wanting to connect to their data from any location, using their own device. The benefits of implementing a mobile strategy are swiftly outweighing the risks for most companies. According to a recent Sybase survey of more than 500 workers in the US and Europe, 56% of respondents said that mobile applications would make them more productive. This is especially true for people who work outside of the office. For example, being able to access paperwork on a mobile device can enable field workers to utilize their time more effectively since they would not have to leave the work site. This type of innovation is never simple. Mobile applications may need to be written for several different types of devices, and companies need to determine how they will keep sensitive data secure. There&rsquo;s a lot to think about in making the move to mobile. However, SAP customers have a major advantag...Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:49:40 GMTExcerpt: Save time by downloading all your SAP Smart Forms at oncehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Excerpt-Save-time-by-downloading-all-your-SAP-Smart-Forms-at-once
The following is an excerpt from the SAP Professional Journal article "Save Time by Downloading All Your SAP Smart Forms at Once" by SAP ABAP consultant Qazi Wasif Ali. The version available to subscribers on the SAP Professional Journal site includes all the code in the article as a downloadable file. As an ABAP programmer, you have times when you want to download your work &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s programs, custom SAP Smart Forms, applications, enhancements, or tables &mdash; to a different local system or external media. You might need to take it to another machine or another project that could benefit from the work you&rsquo;ve developed. Let&rsquo;s take SAP Smart Forms as an example. Say you have 100 SAP Smart Forms that you wanted to move to another machine. The usual process involves downloading each form individually, resulting in a repetitive, time-consumin g process. I&rsquo;ve developed a utility with ABAP code that allows you to download all custom or standard SAP Sm...Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:27:53 GMTHow the Average Consumer's Use of Analytics Will Change Your Workhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/How-the-Average-Consumers-Use-of-Analytics-Will-Change-Your-Work
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs The more I learn about data and analytics, the more I believe there will be broad applications for data and analytics well beyond the business world. They aren't blatantly obvious right now, but if you look for them, there are some signs that the average consumer is subtly being exposed to more analytics -- even some predictive analytics -- everywhere they turn. And this trend may will impact your IT organization in the near future. You could make the argument that we have USA Today to thank for this trend. For years, the newspaper has been using infographics to effectively display information which has been subtly introducing the average American to analytics. Putting simple pie charts and bar charts in front of the American public every morning must have had some familiarization effect on the general public, right? Certainly, the world of politics has been keen on analyzing data for a long time. An exit poll is basically a very low-level use of predi...Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:10:51 GMTPreparing for Sustainable Business Networkshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Preparing-for-Sustainable-Business-Networks
In the event you missed my post on SDN, here is the link . Login required. I will be presenting with (hopefully) SAP Research at the November ASUG Fall Focus event in Anaheim, California. Cheers!Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:10:27 GMTThe 500 Most Common Words from SAP TechEd 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/The-500-Most-Common-Words-from-SAP-TechEd-2011
By Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH I had some spare time last week while the other cool kids were at SBOUC , so I decided to do a little off-the-cuff text analysis project. The image below is a word cloud generated from every scrap of text from every presentation at SAP TechEd 2011 in Las Vegas last month. I scrubbed all obvious ("SAP") and irrelevant ("copyright," "the") words to leave us with the meat of all 370 or so presentations. Click the image below to see the full-size verison: What does this mean? Word clouds are pretty rudimentary text analysis tools, but a few things do jump out at me: 1. HANA and Mobile/mobility make the list, but lag behind BusinessObjects and NetWeaver. The concepts are not mutually exclusive, but it seems clear the instructional content at TechEd is still heavily focused on solutions already in use. I suspect an analysis of SAP's marketing collateral would tell a different story. 2. User experience-focused terms like "UI," "user," and "design" are sti...Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:07:21 GMTWhat is the future of Web Dynpro Java?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/What-is-the-future-of-Web-Dynpro-Java
I read a blog post on SAP Professional Journal author Ameya Pimpalgaonkar's personal blog the other day about Web Dynpro Java and its future within SAP. This is a subject of interest for Ameya -- he had posted about it a year prior in reaction to some announcements made at SAP TechEd. I tweeted it out, along with its title, "Web Dynpro Java no more the strategic UI of SAP" and got some interesting reactions. SAP employee Yariv Zur ( @vlvl ) tweeted the following: It was a good question. How can a UI be strategic, when you really think about it? I asked for more opinions, and SAP Mentor Dirk Hirsch chimed in on what Yariv had to say, to which Yariv basically agreed: This is a good point -- the point of view is important for anything strategy related. We all know SAP's strategy hasn't always aligned with every single customer's (or potential customer's) own strategy. That also doesn't count SAP IT developers and consultants who have specialized knowledge in these areas. I followed up...Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:22:34 GMTPA30 and PA20http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/PA30-and-PA20
What is the difference between transactions PA30 and PA20 other than view capability? Does a user needs to have PA30 to run reports? Thanks. MikeThu, 13 Oct 2011 15:00:56 GMTAre You Ready for the Increase in Demand for SAP Skills?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Are-You-Ready-for-the-Increase-in-Demand-for-SAP-Skills
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs As I wrote about here there is a data skills shortage that may be a concern for some SAP customers. And in fact, according to several sources, including this report from recruitment firm Maximus , demand for SAP skills in general is about to take off, which could add to the already fierce war for SAP talent. So what are you doing about it? How are you addressing the current (or preparing for the future) SAP skills shortage in your organization? Take the poll below to provide your input.Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:46:07 GMTMore News on HTML5 and Enterprise Mobilityhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/More-News-on-HTML5-and-Enterprise-Mobility
I have worked as an IT Manager in my career, and I know the pain involved with supporting systems that are a chaotic mix of different technologies and integration methodologies. I think that is one reason I am so drawn to the idea that HTML5 will help simplify enterprise mobility for many IT organizations. Build once and then use across multiple mobile operating systems and device types. That is the HTML5 dream! HTML5 Advancing A new study from Netbiscuits, a mobile software firm, revealed that a majority of the top-selling 10 smartphones in the United States have adopted HTML5 features. According to the article, &ldquo;Between 70% and 90% of the top devices support key HTML5 programming elements including offline Web application capability, a geolocation API, 2D animation rendering and Web storage. In the last year, HTML5 support is growing for mobile Web development. Prestigious publishers such as Conde Nast and The New York Times, as well as Apple and Google now support HTML5. T...Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:09:06 GMTMobile Podcast Interview Series: Primal's Peter Sweeneyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Mobile-Podcast-Interview-Series-Primals-Peter-Sweeney
Have you ever pondered how semantic engines , vertical search, and interest networking relates to enterprise mobility? If not, it's about time! In this podcast I interview Primal's founder and co-president Peter Sweeney on just these subjects. Listen to the podcast here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:06:05 GMTComplexity, Costs, Global e-Invoicing and SAPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Complexity-Costs-Global-e-Invoicing-and-SAP
I served as an EDI Manager for a large electronics firm in the late nineties, and I thought that was challenging enough. However, these days I continually read about all the different changes around e-invoicing in each country. Here is a recent blog article on changes to the e-invoicing requirements in Germany that I submit as a reference case. It is hard enough keeping your EDI messages and mappings updated with your existing trading partners, not to mention trying to keep up with all the deadlines, mandates and systems requirements of each countries' tax authority. Here is an example of complexity. Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies sells its brands in more than 135 countries. Each time they enter a new market it creates complex customer and supplier integration projects in order to comply with government mandates such as EU, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico's e-invoicing initiatives. If you are growing rapidly, the cost of supporting these fas...Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:49:54 GMTHTML5 - What's New This Weekhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/HTML5-Whats-New-This-Week
This week let's take a look at new developments around HTML5, and what companies are doing with it. Facebook Launches HTML5 Platform Plus Apple iPad App Facebook announced this week that it had launched an HTML5&ndash;based platform, also known as &ldquo;Project Spartan.&rdquo; Users of the will be able to use HTML5-based apps after the impressive overhaul of the iOS version. Facebook&rsquo;s Luke Shepard states &ldquo;We are at the beginning of bringing Facebook Platform apps to mobile. The features we are launching today are still under development. They will evolve as we learn more about building richer social experiences on mobile devices. In addition, we will extend our native support for more mobile platforms such as Android in the near future. We are excited to see what you will build with these features today and look forward to working with you as we improve these features." According to Inside Facebook, &ldquo;iOS developers will get to take advantage of bookmarks, reques...Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:36:20 GMTFive Rules for Supporting Customer Facing Deviceshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Five-Rules-for-Supporting-Customer-Facing-Devices
The following excerpt has been taken from Jim Cameron of ExperiG&rsquo;s presentation &ldquo; Strategies for Selecting the Right Mobile Devices for Use in an SAP Environment: Integration, Maintenance, and Custom Development Considerations &rdquo; which is taking place during the SAPInsider Mobile Seminar , Nov 2-4 in Las Vegas and December 7-9 in Copenhagen. For more tips on making your SAP applications mobile, make sure to Register Today. Five Rules for Supporting Customer Facing Devices Support as many different mobile devices as you can for customer facing applications Target popular platforms like the Apple iOS and Android with native applications that provide a robust user experience For retail customers, target tablet based applications with rich content and interactive catalogs Take advantage of low cost text message to provide key alerts to customers Be sensitive to data bandwidth as consumer data plans increase in cost and are no longer unlimitedTue, 11 Oct 2011 16:41:23 GMTBLOB, PHIO, LOIO: Alphabet soup in SAP Solution Manager version managementhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/BLOB-PHIO-LOIO-Alphabet-soup-in-SAP-Solution-Manager-version-management
Every SAP application has countless acronyms to keep track of, but I particularly enjoyed a few featured in D. Russell Sloan's latest Solution Manager Expert article . The article details how you can make custom document attributes to improve SolMan reporting. In doing so, Russell explains up front some features of the Knowledge Warehouse, and specifically how it helps you with version management. My three favorite acronyms that were mentioned: 1. Binary Large Object (BLOB): The BLOB is the document that you're working with. It can be virtually any document type -- Word, Excel, etc. Solution Manager creates a data record that holds the attributes of the BLOB as well. 2. LOgic al Information Object (LOIO): I'll let Russell explain this one, because his analogy is apt: The LOgical Information Object (LOIO) is in the KW. You can think of it as a folder in a file cabinet. The LOIO is effectively the label or identifier of the file folder. The Physical Information Object (PHIO) is a uni...Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:44:57 GMTIt Takes Tools AND Talent to Unlock the Power of Datahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/It-Takes-Tools-AND-Talent-to-Unlock-the-Power-of-Data
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs It is an exciting time for data proponents right now. For years they have been preaching the power of data and finally, it appears, a broader set of businesses and individuals are buying into it, investing in technology like SAP to collect and analyze data. But to unlock the power of the data your company is collecting you need more than just the right technology; you need people with that rare combination of technical and business skills to analyze the data and make business recommendations based on it. And, I know I am preaching to the choir here, but those people are not easy to find. A report from McKinsey and Co. earlier this year stated that "There will be a shortage of talent necessary for organizations to take advantage of big data. By 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions&hellip;It will be necessary to retrain a significant amount of the talent in place." A more recent study by the Corporate Executive Board called Overcoming the Insight Deficit says that while companies are investing millions into data collection and analysis technology, less than 40% of employees at those companies are adequately trained to use that data in their decision making. So what skills are required to make the most of that data and where can you find them? As this article from the Data Warehousing Institute points out, the best business analysts are "skilled in three areas: First, they engage stakeholders and have an eye for business opportunity. Second, they inspire stakeholders' trust with consistently excellent analysis. Third, 'big data' requires skill with data management and software engineering." People with this combination of skills are likely not in the IT organization, according to the CEB analysis. "Solving these challenges requires anthropological skills and behavioral understanding&mdash;skills that are in short supply in IT. As a result of IT's background and skills, 70% of business leaders find IT's information management capabilities to be inadequate." If your organization is short on these skills, the CEB report provides some suggestions including: &bull; Develop an analytic training curriculum to "raise all boats" in your company &bull; Rather than try to find a team of business analysts, find one with the "coaching" skills to spread the knowledge &bull; Formalize processes to include insight-driven decision making One company that has been successful in developing a "culture of analytics" across its organization is Celestica. Dr. Tianbing Qian, Senior Director of Information Solutions at Celestica told me in this interview that when Celestica established its Business Analytics Center of Excellence, it mixed both IT and business people into the same organization. They have backgrounds in areas such as operations research, data mining, and Six Sigma and work side-by-side with traditional IT data warehousing people. "By using this approach, we can perform deep analytics using proprietary mathematical models to identify the insight and add unique value to our customers," he says. "Then, we can operationalize it by using dashboards and alerts in the most efficient way for the business. It's the combination of using hybrid talent and the hybrid project approach that drives analytics success across a broad range of areas and does so at a rapid speed." As with many challenges, the only truly wrong is no answer. Developing these skills in your organization needs to be a priority. Because if you're not doing anything, as the CEB report points out: "There is an odds-on chance that, right now, someone in your organization is about to make a poor decision based on data that you have paid enormous amounts to gather and assemble." Scary, huh?Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:26:13 GMTMobile Expert Podcast Series: Apacheta's Don Grust, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/Mobile-Expert-Podcast-Series-Apachetas-Don-Grust-Part-1
In this two part segment I interview mobility expert and Apacheta's CEO Don Grust on issues related to cloud computing, ruggedized handhelds, field services and enterprise mobility. Don Grust has more than 28 years of experience in the high-tech industry, including 17 years in wireless and mobile computing. Listen to Part 2 here . Listen to Part 1 here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:29:55 GMTAn SAP Web Channel Implementation in the Medical Device Industryhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/October/An-SAP-Web-Channel-Implementation-in-the-Medical-Device-Industry
I used to work for a small medical device manufacturer, which happened to be in the midst of an ERP implementation. I got to try a test version, ordering imaginary parts, assembling nonexistent circuit boards, shipping them to made-up destinations, creating invoices that went to nobody, and in general using my fake data to harmlessly violate every rule of SoD. Experimenting with a test system is a little bit like bungee jumping &ndash; you get to experience the sensation of falling without the painful ending. The real operations of a medical device manufacturer, of course, are heavily regulated to prevent such a painful ending, a fact that I&rsquo;m grateful for every time I see a doctor. The software is best left to people who know what they&rsquo;re doing. This week, SAPexpert Kunal Verma shows us how one such medical industry solutions company implemented SAP Web Channel as their e-commerce solution, and some key lessons from the implementation. Some of the topics covered by Kun...Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:03:18 GMTReining in the Maverickshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Case-Studies/2011/October/Reining-In-The-Mavericks
Accurately tracking and managing overall spend is quite a task for most companies, especially those with large supplier rosters. Is your company experiencing very high procurement transaction volumes and increased maverick spending within its homegrown purchasing solutions? If so, read this article to learn how SAP customer The Ericsson Group has met this challenge by implementing an e-procurement platform with the help of Capgemini Procurement Services.Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMTDecide Better: Unwire Your Enterprisehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Decide-Better-Unwire-Your-Enterprise
Decide Better: Unwire Your Enterprise A Three-Part Webcast Series from SAP Consulting With mobile technology continuing to redefine the way we do business, the time for enterprise mobility is now. Its absolutely vital, therefore, that your organization have a clear strategy for mobilizing your entire enterprise that includes comprehensive enterprise mobility management, a robust application strategy, and mobile analytics. Please join our team of mobility experts from SAP Consulting for this three-part Webcast series, "Decide Better: Unwire Your Enterprise." We'll speak about the challenges &ndash; and immense rewards &ndash; of developing and executing a comprehensive mobility strategy for your enterprise. We'll also dicuss the powerful mobility management tools for increasing productivity and employee engagement with intuitive software and mobile devices. Each Webcast will include an interactive Q&A session. Webcast One Mobilize Your Enterprise with Speed and Confidence Using SAP...Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:46:50 GMTThoughts on SAP's Acquisition of Crossgatehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Thoughts-on-SAPs-Acquisition-of-Crossgate
In case you missed it, several weeks it was announced that SAP plans to acquire Crossgate, the developers of SAP's SAP Information Interchange . SAP had for a long time been a significant investor and supporter of Crossgate. In this article from ZDnet on the acquisition, they describe the purpose of the acquisition as, "SAP is looking to provide a market to connect customers to business partners. In a nutshell, Crossgate builds services that allow multiple trading partners to exchange data even if partners have different technology platforms ." In other words, it is a managed services EDI/B2B hub. In my early career I worked as an EDI manager. During that time EDI vendors were independent software companies selling EDI translator solution. Today, much of EDI is operated in the cloud and most of the vendors have been acquired by much larger companies. In addition, companies like Ariba have emerged and now compete directly with ERP vendors like SAP. ZDnet adds, " SAP&rsquo;s acquisit...Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:16:23 GMTTrain your end users through systematic trial and errorhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Train-your-end-users-through-systematic-trial-and-error
End-user training is something that's often overlooked in the SAP space, but it shouldn't be. For an SAP implementation to truly succeed, end users need to be happy. And for them to be happy, they need to know how their system works. If they don't, you risk having the system go unused or improperly used, reducing the implementations ROI. In his first SAP Professional Journal article, "An E-Learning Course That Encourages End Users to Learn Through System Errors," SAP trainer AbduNaser Shhub shares an e-learning course he's used to achieve success in teaching end users the ropes. The secret in his method is to for end users to make mistakes to show them what mistake causes what error. By having them go through the motions with this purpose, they can then avoid the mistakes later on. Here's how he introduces the article: I&rsquo;ll show you how to develop an e-learning course that is based on objectives and that you can give to end users to show them how to perform various tasks. I&r...Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:19:24 GMTMobile Expert Podcast Series: ClickSoftware's Gil Bouhnick, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Podcast-Series-ClickSoftwares-Gil-Bouhnick-Part-1
In this segment of the Mobile Expert Podcast Series we have as our guest Gil Bouhnick, a mobility expert, blogger and director of mobility for ClickSoftware . I had the good fortune of spending a few minutes with him this week, and to record this 2 part podcast. In Part 1 we focus on HTML5 and how companies are using it. In Part 2 we discuss tablet trends, Windows 8 and enterprise mobility. Listen to Part 1 of the interview here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:58:13 GMTTell us your thoughts on the upcoming tablet battle royalhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Tell-us-your-thoughts-on-the-upcoming-tablet-battle-royal
By Scott Wallask , SAPexperts Those of you who went to school here in the U.S. may recall the famous Revolutionary War battle cry, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.&rdquo; The line implied patience, and I suspect tablet makers embraced that same fortitude while they waited for the real war to begin among their products. Now, with Amazon&rsquo;s announcement of its new Kindle Fire tablet, the cannons have been loaded. Amazon, RIM, Apple, and Google are making their way to the ring for this battle royal. The results will impact many of your jobs in terms of SAP software. My colleague, Dave Hannon , wrote earlier this week about the tablet, &ldquo;SAP has been on the &lsquo;pro-tablet&rsquo; side of that line in the sand from the moment it appeared.&rdquo; Before you get too confident in your picks for winners and losers, remember that great products and success don&rsquo;t always walk down the same path. Anyone remember The National sports newspaper&rsqu...Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:42:44 GMTA look at updated compare and adjust functionality in SAP Solution Manager 7.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/A-look-at-updated-compare-and-adjust-functionality-in-SAP-Solution-Manager-7-dot-1
Somewhat lost in the HANA hullabaloo at SAP TechEd was an abundance of information and excitement about SAP Solution Manager 7.1. It's clear that 7.1 is being well received. What's also clear is that 7.1 represents a major shift in functionality from 7.0. It's a shift both materially and in look and feel. The compare and adjust functionality, which identifies the differences between the structure and business content assigned to a project and its source, is an example of something that is different in the new version. In her latest Solution Manager Expert article, "Discover the Compare and Adjust Functionality Changes in SAP Solution Manager 7.1," independent Solution Manager consultant Raquel Cunha explores how compare and adjust is altered in 7.1. Here is an excerpt of her article, just to give you a peek at how the new screens compare to what you're used to in 7.0. Figure 1 shows the old screen of the Solution Overview available in releases of SAP Solution Manager earlier than 7...Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:41:00 GMTWhat Side of the Tablet Line is Your Organization On?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/What-Side-of-the-Tablet-Line-is-Your-Organization-On
? By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs When Apple released the iPad a line was drawn in the sand for the technology world. While tablet PCs weren't brand new, suddenly everyone was either on one side or the other. Either you were a believer in the power of the tablet PC or you were a skeptic. But as with any new technology, with experience comes learning. As more companies use the iPad and the piles of other tablets now available in their organizations, that line in the sand is getting scuffed away with the growing foot traffic crossing from one side to the other. And for many SAP customers, the line might not even exist anymore. Yes, the adoption and growth numbers for the iPad alone and tablets as a whole are impressive. I could bombard you with a pile of analyst reports to that effect but I'll spare you and just provide this little gem from a Forrester report out this week that sums it up nicely: The use of tablets in the enterprise is exploding. Eleven percent of information workers a...Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:34:46 GMTPodcast Interview with e-Invoicing Expert Jason Jones, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Podcast-Interview-with-e-Invoicing-Expert-Jason-Jones-Part-1
In this podcast SAP Mentor Kevin Benedict interviews Crossgate's VP of Professional Services Jason Jones on the requirements for e-Invoicing in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. This is a two part podcast. Listen to Part 1 of this interview here . You can listen to Part 2 of this interview here . ************************************************ Kevin R Benedict EDI and e-Invoicing Veteran, SAP Mentor, Analyst and Blogger Join the SAP EDI and SAP Information Interchange group on Linkedin: *Full Disclosure: I am an independent consultant that has worked with and for many of the companies mentioned.Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:37:09 GMTMaintaining value mapping groups to improve system performancehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Maintaining-value-mapping-groups-to-improve-system-performance
Data retrieval accounts for a lot of performance issues within systems. This can arise due to a number of factors -- frequent calls for data, or a large amount of memory consumption, for instance. SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (SAP NetWeaver PI) provides a way for you to reduce your performance issues. You can map some functions to others in an interface field, reducing the processing time. The actual process is of course much more complicated than that, but Aaron Long of SAP Active Global Support explains it in detail in his latest SAP Professional Journal article, "Improve SAP NetWeaver PI Value Mapping Performance in a High-Volume Situation." Before he gets into the detail of the article, which includes practical examples that show various ways this process can work, he clears up a misunderstanding about the relationship between maintaining value mapping groups and Java heap memory usage. I'll share that excerpt with you here. The Number of Value Mapping Groups vs. Java Heap...Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:01:31 GMTHow Solution Manager addresses global rolloutshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/How-Solution-Manager-addresses-global-rollouts
D. Russell Sloan's latest Solution Manager Expert article "Demystifying the Global Rollout: Using Template and Implementation Projects to Manage a Global Deployment" is ambitious. A global rollout is obviously a massive project, and while SAP Solution Manager has functionality to help, it's still a daunting task. Nevertheless, Russell isn't afraid to get into the system and show you how it can meet your needs. The following is an excerpt of the article , focusing on the use of what Solution Manager terms solutions. Given the broad use of this word, it's easy to lose track of what it means in a SolMan context. Russell has a great example to help explain its importance. Now let&rsquo;s look at the features of a solution: The solution represents the productive environment. It is an SAP Solution Manager entity that is used to house all the processes that have been delivered during all the go-live events that have occurred in the company. The solution is the sum of all processes and pro...Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:07:00 GMTThe HMTL5 Standard - Where Do Things Stand?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/The-HMTL5-Standard-Where-Do-Things-Stand
In this article we are going to explore the status of the HTML5 standard. The HTML5 specification from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) can be found at dev.w3.org/html5/spec/Overview.html . A version-control record of all changes to the HTML5 standard are available at: ulFri, 23 Sep 2011 16:25:28 GMTIs HANA the Concorde of enterprise software?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Is-HANA-the-Concorde-of-enterprise-software
by Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH The estimated costs of developing a supersonic airliner were so great that it took an international treaty between England and France to embark on the project. The treaty would eventually give rise to the aircraft&rsquo;s name &ndash; the Concorde. Not only were the original development costs enormous, but British Airways and Air France needed government subsidies to purchase the airplanes &ndash; a fleet which at its height comprised only 20 active craft. There was no denying the coolness of the technology. It was the first aircraft to employ hybrid circuits, electrically-controlled flying and braking systems, variable air intake systems, and a dropped nose section for landing visibility. The Concorde&rsquo;s graceful delta-winged body was hurled forward by four Rolls-Royce/Olympus engines originally designed for the British Avro Vulcan bomber (thanks Wikipedia!). It could get you from here to there fast. Really fast. As a feat of aeronautics, the...Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:25:53 GMTHTML5's Future - Comments and Predictions!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/HTML5s-Future-Comments-and-Predictions
I thought it would be interesting to research and collect quotes from various mobility experts on the topic of HTML5. I hope you find this useful! &bull; Jason Grigsby, Vice President of Cloud Four (quoted in 2009) &ldquo;HTML5 is going to be be a big deal and it will be relevant much sooner than people think.&rdquo; &ldquo;&hellip;the adoption of HTML5 will be driven by the needs of mobile, not the needs of desktop developers.&rdquo; www.cloudfour.com/html5-from-a-mobile-pe... &bull; Yuval Brisker, CEO of TOA Technologies &ldquo;&hellip;it&rsquo;s clear that the HTML5 revolution is in full swing. And those in the know are both impressed and supportive...we have embraced HTML5 in its totality in order to provide deep enhanced mobility to our customers worldwide.&rdquo; toatech.com/blog/innovation/html-5-conti... &bull; David Semeria, creator of LM (a general purpose system for creating, deploying and monetizing code and content) &ldquo;I started out as a big believer in HTML 5 on m...Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:44:17 GMTLive Q&A and Podcast with James Roeske, Preventing SoD violations with scheduled and automated user access reviewshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Live-QA-and-Podcast-with-James-Roeske-Preventing-SoD-violations-with-scheduled-and-automated-user-ac
Insider Learning Network is hosting a live question and answer forum on preventing SoD violations with scheduled and automated user access reviews on September 28 th from 12:30-1:30 pm EDT with James Roeske of Savera Systems. Make sure to Register Today and get a copy of James&rsquo;s presentation, Lessons for Conducting User Access Reviews of Your SAP System , previously only available to GRC2011 attendees. In preparation for the forum, I had a great call with James to discuss some of the issues surrounding obsolete and outdated access. James provided some really valuable insight into which user access processes can be retained rather than completely redone and how to automate the analysis of data from user transaction logs. If preventing SoD violations with scheduled and automated user access reviews is a topic of interest to you, definitely listen in on the following podcast and REGISTER TODAY to attend James&rsquo;s live question and answer forum where you can get more specific...Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:20:52 GMTSAP Acquires EDI and e-Invoicing Company - Crossgatehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/SAP-Acquires-EDI-and-e-Invoicing-Company-Crossgate
It has been announced that Crossgate, the developers of SAP's SAP Information Interchange, are going to be acquired by SAP. SAP had always been a significant investor and supporter of Crossgate, and many of us thought this would be the natural result of this relationship. Here is the press release . Here is an article from ZDnet on the acquisition. For those of you that may not know Crossgate, they build services that allow multiple trading partners to exchange data even if partners have different technology platforms. It is a managed services EDI/B2B hub. Crossgate manages global e-invoicing for large companies around the world. They offer solutions for Mexico e-Invoicing, Brazil e-Invoicing, Argentina and over 35 other countries. This is very interesting news indeed. ************************************************ Kevin R Benedict EDI and e-Invoicing Veteran, SAP Mentor, Analyst and Blogger Join the SAP EDI and SAP Information Interchange group on Linkedin &nb sp;*Full Disclosur...Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:40:49 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Dr. Ahmed El Adlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Dr-dot-Ahmed-El-Adl
This is the ninth interview that I recorded at the SAP TechEd 2011 conference on enterprise mobility. Dr. Ahmed El Adl gives us his perspective on how enterprise mobility has evolved and changed over the past year and where SAP is looking to go now with mobility. The links for all nine of the recorded video interviews are listed below for your quick reference. Watch the video of Dr. Ahmed El Adl here . Mobile Expert Video Series: Centigon's Ryan Goodman Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Puneet Suppal Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Matthew Schwartz Mobile Expert Video Series: Sybase's Jagdish Bansiya Mobile Expert Video Series: &nbs p;SAP's Nick Brown Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's CIO Oliver Bussman Mobile Expert Video Series: Cognizant's Jeff Wallace Mobile Expert Video Series: Sybase's Bryan Whitmarsh ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategie...Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:14:00 GMTSolMan semantics: How SAP is trying to get its ALM message to stickhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/SolMan-semantics-How-SAP-is-trying-to-get-its-ALM-message-to-stick
In a recent post , I mentioned how there was a repeated refrain in the Solution Manager space at our SAPinsider IT 2011 event , "ERP for IT". The phrase was a condensed way for SAP to communicate that IT can get the same benefits out of Solution Manager that the business side achieves with ERP systems. At TechEd, I haven't heard that phrase (though I admit, in the haze of HANA coverage early on I missed quite a few SolMan sessions). I have, however, heard two other terms that have been interesting: 1. Orchestration. I've seem many slides talking about how to "orchestrate your system", or "orchestrate ALM". I think it's an effective term, given the kind of coordination required not only within the Solution Manager system, but within the organization to truly get the most out of its capabilities. 2. Run SAP like a factory. In some ways, this seems like the opposite idea, but I think it's actually complementary in a way. Orchestrating implies some kind of elegance, while a factory is...Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:22:00 GMTThings Get a Little Crazy at SAP TechEd (Day 3)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Things-Get-a-Little-Crazy-at-SAP-TechEd-Day-3
Sure, SAP TechEd is serious business and there's a lot to be learned. But I'm happy to see the SAP crowd keeping its sense of humor and cutting loose. I caught this bit of craziness last night in the Clubhouse. Who knew Elvis was not only alive, but picked up a German accent (I think?).Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:00:16 GMTA few challenges to the mobility revolutionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/A-few-challenges-to-the-mobility-revolution
by Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH The iPad is the bikini of the tech world. Like the bikini, the iPad is most often described not by the parts that comprise it, but by the experience it delivers those who behold it. ("iPad + sexy" = 127 million Google results). Also like the bikini, that sexiness is so transcendant that it has forced a complete reimagining of what is possible. The original, fairly modest bikini gave rise to Ursula Andress, Phoebe Cates, and Baywatch (no links, sorry... company blog), while the iPad has sparked an intense interest in mobility among even the most old-fashioned enterprises. Here at SAP TechEd 2011, mobility is second only to HANA in terms of buzz. Seems like everyone is trying to deliver SAP applications (and extensions of applications) to business users through mobile devices. SAP has put its full weight behind mobility, first by acquiring enterprise mobility platform vendor Sybase, then by promoting mobility as part of core enterprise strategy for t...Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:15:33 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Sybase's Jagdish Bansiyahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Sybases-Jagdish-Bansiya
I want to highlight a couple of interviews that I have recorded this week at SAP TechEd 2011 that focus on mobile strategy. Jagdish Bansiya PHD is the CTO of Enterprise Mobility at Sybase, and in this interview he shares his thoughts on what it means for mobile applications to be truly "transformational." I will publish another interview later today that I recorded with Ahmed El Adl PHD that also focuses on mobile strategies, so watch for this one as well. Also don't forget that everyone that takes the enterprise mobility survey will receive the final results for free. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility &nbsp;and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobil...Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:16:45 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Matthew Schwartzhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Matthew-Schwartz
I had the good fortune to meet and corner SAP's VP of Enterprise Mobility for North America, Matthew Schwartz at SAP TechED today. In this video interview Matt shares his thoughts and insights on enterprise mobility. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:12:29 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Puneet Suppalhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Puneet-Suppal
SAP's PCN mobility enthusiast Puneet Suppal shares his insights on developments in enterprise mobility at SAP TechEd 2011. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have work ed with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:08:00 GMTHow SAP developed its latest technology roadmap (and no, it's not just HANA)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/How-SAP-developed-its-latest-technology-roadmap-and-no-its-not-just-HANA
It doesn't take an MBA or Six Sigma training to know that the best thing a business can do is solve its customers' problems. And it's this simple truth -- and not necessarily the technological breakthrough of SAP HANA -- that is driving the current SAP technology roadmap. You probably have heard SAP's repeated tagline of on device, on demand, on premise. Now, this isn't a roadmap exactly, but the tagline derives from four consistent pieces of feedback they heard from customers in recent years. Customers want to increase their business agility They want to run smart and stable systems They want to find ways to empower their end users, reducing the burden on IT Ultimately, they want to reduce TCO Obviously, these are high-level (and somewhat obvious) goals. But SAP regrouped its strategy and, in part with the development of HANA, took a look at the way its technology was positioned and how it could help customers achieve these four goals. To increase business agility, SAP looked to b...Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:44:35 GMTSAP TechEd 2011 Impressions: Day 2http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/SAP-TechEd-2011-Impressions-Day-2
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Today's episode: There's a disaster coming, so put your helmet on Beyond SAP HANA and mobility, the theme I see emerging here at SAP TechEd 2011 is disaster recovery. It is definitely a bigger area of interest this year than last year and for good reason, given what's taken place here in the U.S. and abroad in the past year. In New England alone, we had tornadoes, an earthquake, and a hurricane that continues to cause flood problems. And of course, the Japanese earthquake was another reminder that we all need to have a disaster recovery plan in place. This year at TechEd, I caught one session (by Honeywell) dedicated to disaster recovery plans, but noticed when it's mentioned in other sessions, there is a flurry of follow-up questions. I started writing down some of the questions that attendees seem to have when it comes to disaster recovery. How far away should your disaster site be? Exactly how much of you IT landscape should you have stored there? W...Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:22:42 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Nick Brownhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Nick-Brown
I have interviewed Nick Brown, SAP's Senior VP of Mobile Strategies, several times over the past couple of years and it has always been a pleasure. Nick is a straight shooter (crazy American phrase for honest and open). He shares technical details in clear and understandable language, and is open about areas of strengths and weaknesses in his products. All of these qualities equal credibility. Thanks Nick! In this interview we discuss the new Sybase Unwired Platform version 2.1, and its hybrid web container. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read&nbsp; The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have work...Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:17:00 GMTValuated Goods receipt with Multiple Account Assignmenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Valuated-Goods-receipt-with-Multiple-Account-Assignment
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting Enabling &lsquo;multiple account assignment&rsquo; functionality is very useful as it enables you to split an individual line on a purchase order or purchase requisition into multiple account assignments. This means that you can enter several cost centers on a single line of a purchasing document and choose a method for distributing the purchasing cost among the cost centers. The distribution method could either be on a quantity or percentage basis and this is specified in the &ldquo;Account Assignment&rdquo; tab of the purchase order line item. To set up the functionality for multiple account assignments, you need to go transaction OME9 or the following configuration menu path: Materials Management -Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:24:48 GMTThoughts from the SAP TechEd keynote: It's all about HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Thoughts-from-the-SAP-TechEd-keynote-Its-all-about-HANA
If there was anything to take away from this morning's keynote at SAP TechEd it was this: HANA is at the center of everything SAP is doing moving forward. Now, this may be a simplification, or it may just seem like the same thing you've been hearing in various press releases and articles over the last few months as SAP has pushed HANA further into the public's consciousness. But in Vishal Sikka's comments at the keynote, it became even more clear that HANA is everything. Vishal was joined by a number of co-presenters, all of whom showed some way HANA improved existing processes or allowed for companies to make their own improvements. One example was Yodobashi, who improved their incentive payment process from 3 days to 2 seconds. When you're reducing days to seconds, you're going to get some attention. There were many more numbers that said the same thing: HANA is fast. And while Vishal didn't talk cost (though I can't say that would be expected at such an event), the assertion was...Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:52:48 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Cognizant's Jeff Wallacehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Cognizants-Jeff-Wallace
Cognizant's AVP of Mobility, Jeff Wallace shares his insights into the current state of enterprise mobility at SAP's TechEd conference in Las Vegas. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have work ed with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:02:25 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Sybase's Bryan Whitmarshhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Sybases-Bryan-Whitmarsh
I am attending SAP's TechEd conference this week where I will be interviewing experts in mobility. Last night I had the good fortune to run into Sybase's Product Manager for SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform), Bryan Whitmarsh. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility and Sybase Unwired Platform Groups Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure : I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:58:23 GMTMobile Expert Podcast Series: PSION's Mike Petersen, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Mobile-Expert-Podcast-Series-PSIONs-Mike-Petersen-Part-1
I had the pleasure of interviewing PSION's Mike Petersen this week about rugged and industrial grade mobile devices, total cost of ownership and device strategies. This is Part 1, you can listen to Part 2 of this interview here . This article is a good one for those debating the merits of using consumer grade smartphones or rugged handhelds for specific jobs and tasks. Watch Part 1 here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Visit MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:35:30 GMTA Solution Manager function for performing change analysishttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/A-Solution-Manager-function-for-performing-change-analysis
Any time you make a change to a system, there is going to be an impact. But in SAP Solution Manager, there is a way to analyze what that impact can be before you apply the change to the SAP system. Ajay Vonkarey is a leading application life cycle management (ALM) and Solution Manager evangelist. In his first contribution to Solution Manager Expert, Ajay introduces readers to the Business Process Change Analyzer (BPCA) functionality in SAP Solution Manager. BPCA assesses how a change is going to affect various objects in the SAP system. Here is a snippet of Ajay's article, "Affirm Your Change Testing with BPCA" : You perform change analysis using the function via the SAP Solution Manager Work Center in the Test Management tab in the BP Change Analyzer function ( Figure 1 ). You can run the change analysis against an existing transport request or from a list of transports delivered by SAP as part of a Support Package. The key information is to provide the System and Client values in...Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:19:05 GMTManaging multiple SAP data migration projects at the same timehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Managing-multiple-SAP-data-migration-projects-at-the-same-time
With the enterprise-level companies running SAP systems, it's easy for situations to arise where multiple projects are running at the same time, taking up similar resources. If the projects are related to a particular module, this isn't necessarily a problem -- but what happens when they involve something that touches the entire IT landscape, like data migration? Yogesh Lohiya explores this topic in his latest SAP Professional Journal article, "Develop a Matrix So You Can Execute Multiple Data Migration Projects at Once." He shows you how to put together a matrix that lays out all the projects that will be running, and when they will be running and need certain resources. Yogesh uses the following example to illuminate how this matrix can deliver value: Consider a large tablet and notebook manufacturing organization that has multiple business units and is already on an SAP system, but is upgrading to the latest version. It decides to perform this SAP upgrade first on its two bigges...Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:42:30 GMTIntra-company sales postinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Intra-company-sales-posting
I'm wondering if there is a way to generate an intra-company sales transaction that will post to the GL. We have activated the profit center accounting with transfer pricing, but the full transaction is only visible in CO and does not post to the GL. We have many such transactions within a single company code and need to see the full sales transaction in the ledger, with corresponding sales elimination entries. Many thanks for any help.Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:35:30 GMTSetting up Automatic Activity Price Calculationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Setting-up-Automatic-Activity-Price-Calculation
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting In my previous blog &ldquo;Let the system calculate Your Activity rates Automatically&rdquo;, I discussed the options available for calculating activity rates in the system and the benefits that would arise from doing so. I will expand further on the automatic calculation of activity rates, and highlight a few of the settings needed for calculating plan and actual activity rates using the system. Activity type master: In the activity type master (transaction KL02) you need to set the &lsquo;Price indicator&rsquo; to &ldquo;1&rdquo; (Plan price, automatically based on activity) in the &lsquo;Allocation default values&rsquo; section in order that the plan prices are calculated automatically. This means that the cost center budget entered in transaction KP06 will be divided by the quantity entered in transaction KP26 when you run the plan price calculation in transaction KSPI. You need to set the &lsquo;Act. Price indicator&rsquo; to &ldquo;5&rdquo; (...Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:30:35 GMTPodcast with Jay Riddle: SAP and SAP BusinessObjects Integration -- and how 4.0 changes it allhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Podcast-with-Jay-Riddle-SAP-and-SAP-BusinessObjects-Integration-and-how-4-dot-0-changes-it-all
This afternoon I had the opportunity to speak with Reporting & Analytics 2011 speaker, Jay Riddle, about SAP and SAP BusinessObjects integration best practices, and connectivity updates in the new 4.0 release. Check out the podcast here! You can also ask Jay some of your toughest SAP and SAP BusinessObjects integration questions in real time during our live Q&A in the SAP BusinessObjects forum on September 21, at 1:00 pm . Hope you'll join us then!Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:29:54 GMTQuick Poll: Where do you stand on your SAP staffing?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/Quick-Poll-Where-do-you-stand-on-your-SAP-staffing
Staffing for SAP projects is becoming more challenging as demand for IT workers increases across the board. According to IT recruiting specialist Robert Half Technology, CIOs will be increasing staffs by 6% this quarter. Where do you stand with your staffing? Take our quick poll here and let us know.Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:01:30 GMTThe SAP/Oracle lawsuit lives onhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/September/The-SAPOracle-lawsuit-lives-on
Yesterday judge Phyllis Hamilton threw out the decision that SAP owed Oracle $1.3 billion for copyright infringements. She gave Oracle two options: except a smaller payment of $272 million, or submit to a new trial. And they have to decide by September 30 . &ldquo;The verdict grossly exceeded the actual harm to Oracle,&rdquo; Hamilton wrote. The jury verdict &ldquo;was contrary to the weight of the evidence, and was grossly excessive,&rdquo; she said. My gut reaction to this was that the following would happen: Larry Ellison's face turns purple and smoke comes out his ears Ellison goes on a week-long tirade through the media badmouthing SAP, Leo Apotheker, HP, and anyone who seems associated with any of them Oracle agrees to a new trial and asks for even more money this time around Maybe I view Ellison as a cartoon version of himself (which is more fun, and which I think he kind of encourages). But this Business Insider piece by Matt Rosoff notes that Oracle might take a more subtl...Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:26:52 GMTCreating a structure package as part of an ABAP package concepthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Creating-a-structure-package-as-part-of-an-ABAP-package-concept
The concept of an ABAP package was introduced in SAP NetWeaver application server ABAP 6.20 as a way to keep development objects from being used in undesirable ways. By setting up a package, you can encapsulate your desired objects into a structure that keeps them off limits from outside use. Alfred Barzewski, a senior developer at SAP AG, explains the concept in depth in his SAP Professional Journal article, "How You Can Benefit from the ABAP Package Concept." He explains how to prepare to use the package concept, and then how to set it up in your system. He then moves on to explain four example case studies of how the package concept can differ depending on different situations. Here's an excerpt from the article , in which Alfred explains how to create a structure package as the root of the package hierarchy. To create or change a structure package, you need authorization for activity 02 (Change) in authorization object S_PACKSTRU. If, in addition, you have to specify the transp...Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:05:00 GMTHow Data Will Save you From a Mountain Lion Attack (and Save Gas on the Way to Work)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/How-Data-Will-Save-you-From-a-Mountain-Lion-Attack-and-Save-Gas-on-the-Way-to-Work
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs When you start talking about "data analysis" to the average non-IT person, their eyes glaze over pretty quick. But when you say "mountain lions on treadmills" suddenly you have their attention. Well, you know why that mountain lion is on a treadmill? To collect data. The real-world day-to-day applications of data analysis are really popping up in new and wildly interesting ways and it's the IT folks -- that's you! -- that make it all possible. According to this New York Times article , researchers in Colorado are testing data-colleecting collars that can be put on mountain lions to track their movements and biological processes. Interesting you say, but not that practical? Well, like all good data analysis, the researchers coordinating this project hope to use the data to not only track past big cat events, but predict future ones. According to the article, the data stream from a smart-collared animal would show, for example, when the animal had last e...Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:30:00 GMTA Sample Business Process Hierarchyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/A-Sample-Business-Process-Hierarchy
For those of you who have heard about Business Process Hierarchies (BPH) but never quite knew what they were supposed to look like, here is a great example from D. Russell Sloan, excerpted from his article &ldquo; How SAP Solution Manager Can Lead Your Company to Business Process Excellence .&rdquo; The full article originally appeared in Solution Manager Expert in May 2011. When starting your BPH workshops it is all too easy to get caught up in thinking about how your business operates rather than understanding the concepts of scenario, process, and process step. For this reason, I like to use fictitious business models to teach these concepts so that you can truly focus on them before adding the complexities of the business to the mix. Child Management Services, Inc., is one of my favorite fictitious companies because it&rsquo;s kind of fun, virtually everyone can relate to it, and it illustrates the concepts your team needs for a successful BPH build. Business Background &bull;...Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:33:00 GMTHTML5 Appshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/HTML5-Apps
In this article we are going to take a look at a few HTML5 applications to learn more about what can be done. Kindle Cloud Reader A web app that lets the user read Kindle books instantly, providing instant access to the user&rsquo;s Kindle library. Provides caching for offline reading. Currently available for Safari and Chrome browsers. read.amazon.com/ Color Mail &ldquo;This web application helps you to create a color styled email template and then you can use it directly in your iOS Mail app to send a colorful email to your friends.&rdquo; Many templates are available in multiple categories. Currently available only for iPhone and iPad. www.touchapp.co.uk/ www.apple.com/webapps/productivity/color... Meebo An integrated, all-in-one instant messaging app that enables users to easily share content and communicate in real time. Supports all the major IM networks: AOL, Yahoo!, Gmail, Google Talk, Facebook, MySpace and more. Allows for push notifications ev en when the app is closed. w...Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:20:00 GMTDesigning Dashboards: First Decide What You Want!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Designing-Dashboards-First-Decide-What-You-Want
The following tip is taken from the BusinessObjects Expert article &ldquo; Interested in Dashboard Design? A Methodical Approach to Creating an Xcelsius Dashboard &rdquo; by Sandesh Darne, published in May 2011. The success of any dashboard design depends on understanding what business executives and managers expect from it for measurement and monitoring of business elements. Often, requirements are articulated as follows: &ldquo;I would like to see a competitive sales comparison dashboard&rdquo; or &ldquo;I need to know the demand in the last quarter. What is the quarterly growth in sales? What is the product market share?&rdquo; The challenge is to transform these requirements into dashboard functionalities that provide answers in an at-a-glance screen. More elaboration on requirements provides a better description of the dashboard. You can achieve this by: &bull; Understanding the executive&rsquo;s mental model of a dashboard &bull; Carrying out a detailed analysis of current bu...Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:27:00 GMTA Mobile Commerce Realization in an Unlikely Placehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/A-Mobile-Commerce-Realization-in-an-Unlikely-Place
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Sure, it was a "reunion" show and the band, the fans, even the bartenders were, shall we say, "of a certain age." Sure, instead of staggering out of a smoke-filled cargo van, the band members rolled up in two mini-vans, with families in tow, car seats and the whole bit. But it was still the same old dark and dingy rock club and the band was still very loud, so it sort of felt like the old days. Until I saw the glow. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a digital light glowing, illuminating a face that was intently focused on the screen below. "Another guy texting instead of watching the concert," I thought. But upon closer inspection, he didn&rsquo;t seem the texting type. Big dude, red bandana, leather vest&hellip;you know the guy. Then, I saw someone hand him a credit card. Something sinister? No, he was the t-shirt guy&mdash;he was using a card reader and an app on his iPhone to process the sale of concert shirts, taking people's email to send a re...Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:10:00 GMTChallenges with HTML5 for Mobile Applicationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Challenges-with-HTML5-for-Mobile-Applications
I&rsquo;ve been highlighting features and advantages of HTML5 in previous posts, however, HTML5 has its limitations and challenges as well. Let's take a look at some of the noted concerns and disadvantages of HTML5 web-based apps in this article. ulFri, 26 Aug 2011 00:45:00 GMTXcelsius Flexibility Guide for Dashboards - with Exampleshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Xcelsius-Flexibility-Guide-for-Dashboards-with-Examples
In this blog we will take a look at a few examples of interactive dashboard features for Xcelsius. By using these capabilities, you can avoid searching for the &lsquo;ultimate&rsquo; requirements and meet multiple requests. Following these ideas, you can increase your adaptation rate and make Xcelsius an integrated part of your analytics (note: all dashboard examples in this blog are from Comerit Labs and the data in the examples are not &lsquo;real&rsquo;) By Dr. Berg Going beyond the Norm &ndash; Use External Sources Unfortunately, developers seem to believe that Google maps, news feed and other cool features are only for books and classroom learning. As a result, most dashboards developed today do not contain external interfaces and data. This is a mistake. Users are holistic people, who love graphical interfaces. Therefore, don&rsquo;t be afraid to add news feeds as banners, include maps for interactive analysis. Also, add simple graphs that users can toggle between (notice the...Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:49:00 GMTThe Mobility World is Not What it Was a Week Ago!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/The-Mobility-World-is-Not-What-it-Was-a-Week-Ago
Wow! What a week in mobility! First Google buys Motorola Mobile and gets into the hardware business. This puts a cash rich competitor into the handset space, and another arrow into RIM (the manufacturers of the Blackberry), and a fatal blow to HP and their webOS aspirations. HP surrenders the mobile device and mobile operating system battle as there is NO way they can compete against Apple, Google or even RIM. They are even wanting to leave the PC/laptop market now. I think they recognize the PC/laptop market is morphing into the same business as mobile devices and they cannot compete against Apple and Google in that space. Nokia surrendered a few months ago on the software/OS (operating system) battle and partnered with Microsoft. Now all the major mobile OS players are intimately connected to specific hardware manufacturers. My analysis, both Apple and Google are inside the "decision cycle" of RIM, Motorola, Nokia, Microsoft and HP. In another words, Apple and Google are making g...Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:08:00 GMTM&A speculation heating up for SAP and HPhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/MA-speculation-heating-up-for-SAP-and-HP
The idea of SAP being bought or merged with isn't exactly new. I've blogged about bits of speculation here in the past and have generally felt like it was nonsense. Some of the hubbub had gone away, but with HP's prevalence in tech news of late, it's picking back up. HP surprisingly announced its exit from the mobile and PC businesses, instead looking to fortify its other activities while also paying more than $10 billion for software maker Autonomy . Naturally, my Google Alerts became flooded with SAP-HP talk over the weekend. VentureBeat's Peter Yared notes that in light of all these moves, SAP presents the perfect complement to HP to make an enormous, enterprise-wide conglomerate. HP&rsquo;s gaps are perfectly filled by SAP. And SAP&rsquo;s gaps in services, enterprise search, o perating system, processor, storage and management are all filled by HP. A merger of SAP (valued at $60 billion) and HP (valued at $49 billion) would create a $109 billion behemoth capable of competing w...Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:33:00 GMTHow to set up BPM for alternate notifications of batch job log errorshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/How-to-set-up-BPM-for-alternate-notifications-of-batch-job-log-errors
One of the strengths of SAP Solution Manager is its monitoring capabilities. Theo van Kaathoven of Certifica Automatisering BV discusses one such capability in his latest Solution Manager Expert article, "Monitor Batch Jobs Log Errors with Business Process Monitoring in SAP Solution Manager." Theo focuses the article on the business process monitoring (BPM) functionality related the batch job log errors. BPM allows Solution Manager users to monitor the errors that result in batch jobs, which allows for quicker reactions and greater error reduction. After going through some prerequisites, Theo shows how to set up BPM, focusing on key actions such as basic settings, logical components, and monitoring and analysis tools. Here is an excerpt from the "Notifications and Service Desk" section of the article, wherein he details how to set up an alternate way to be notified: As an alternative to the standard notification via SAPconnect (email), you can trigger any customer-specific auto-not...Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:15:00 GMTAn actionable example of using implicit enhancementshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/An-actionable-example-of-using-implicit-enhancements
In a recent SAP Professional Journal article , SAP ABAP consultant Faisal Altaf explained how to use implicit enhancements, which allow you to add custom code to SAP's standard code without doing any actual modification. Faisal wrote a companion piece to that article, showing a real-world example of using implicit enhancements. His example, in "How to Fill a Collective Number with an Automatically Generated Number or Purchase Request Number for an RFQ," Faisal explains how the collective number (Coll. No.) field must be filled manually in requests for quotation (RFQ), but that this becomes a burden of time and allows for too much error. The process can be automated by making the field itself optional (so that the standard SAP code doesn't overwrite what you do) and then using an implicit enhancement to automatically fill the field. In following the process in the article, you bypass the manual step entirely. The reasons for using this process are varied, but here are a couple of ex...Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:46:00 GMTProtecting your BW Reports: Live Q&A and Podcasthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Protecting-your-BW-Reports-Live-QA-and-Podcast
Insider Learning Network is hosting a live question and answer forum on BW Security this Wednesday with 2 of our top security experts, Richard Hunt and Tom Venables of Turnkey Consulting. Make sure to Register Today and get a copy of Richard Hunt&rsquo;s presentation, What Every SAP Customer Now Needs to Know About Analysis Authorizations, a New Security Concept Within SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse 7.0, previously only available to GRC2011 attendees. In preparation for the forum, I had a great call with Richard to discuss some of the key security issues surrounding BW. Richard provided some really valuable insight into BW security has changed since the release of BW 7.0 and what he has seen to be the greatest security risk to BW reports right now and how to help remediate those risks. If securing your BW reports is a topic your interested in, definitely listen in on the following podcast and REGISTER to attend Richard and Tom&rsquo;s live question and answer forum where you can...Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:31:00 GMTProtecting your BW Reportshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/August/Protecting-Your-BW-Reports
Podcast with Richard Hunt of Turnkey Consulting on how to protect your SAP NetWeaver BW reports.Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:59:09 GMTSAP clarifies HANA brandinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/SAP-clarifies-HANA-branding
In case you missed it, SAP VP Amit Sinha announced last month that SAP HANA is no longer known by any of the many-worded terms you've heard in the last year (In-Memory Appliance, High-Performance Analytic Appliance, etc.). That's right, it's just SAP HANA now. Here's what Amit has to say: [W]ith general availability, we&rsquo;ve learned and simplified the positioning and branding. SAP HANA is a platform . Deployment models are the SAP HANA appliance (GA now from selected partners) for on-premise and the SAP HANA application cloud (in private beta now) for on-demand deployment. Running on the SAP HANA platform are real-time analytics and real-time applications. Applications built on the SAP HANA platform will be designated &ldquo;powered by SAP HANA&rdquo; (did I just announce an ISV program by saying that?). The SAP HANA platform consists of the SAP HANA database , which is based on our breakthrough SAP in-memory computing technology , plus other components (data services, calculat...Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:58:00 GMTEvaluate various SAP implementation approaches analyticallyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Evaluate-various-SAP-implementation-approaches-analytically
The process for choosing an SAP implementation approach can be tricky. Some organizations prefer to do a big-bang implementation: Put everything in all at once, and get everybody on board at the same time. Others prefer a phased approach: putting in modules one at a time, or implement applications in a staggered nature from one location to the next. Choosing the approach ends up coming down to management's choice. As we've seen in many areas, analytics can help make management choices smarter, and SAP implementations are no different. Jeetendra Kumar, IT director at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., explains such an analytical process in the SAP Professional Journal article, "Use the AHP Methodology to More Effectively Define and Evaluate Your SAP Implementation Approach." The AHP stands for analytic hierarchy process, which you can learn more about at www.ahpproject.com . Simply put, this methodology allows you to consider various criteria and subcriteria. When you rate these criteria,...Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:35:00 GMTApproaches for Safeguarding Restricted Information in a Globally-managed Environmenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Approaches-for-Safeguarding-Restricted-Information-in-a-Globally-managed-Environment
What do you do when you realize your IT offshore provider has their fingers up to their shoulders in the proverbial cookie jar? In this month's compliance offering I have a look at those great "bargain" IT offshore providers and what happens when the access profiles inadvertently include restricted product and manufacturing information. Read the full blog at #theviewfromclevel here .Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:06:00 GMTSetting up a cross-system automated testing solution that connects to Solution Managerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Setting-up-a-cross-system-automated-testing-solution-that-connects-to-Solution-Manager
The latest article published to Solution Manager Expert is the final piece of a three-part series we've run on automated testing. Testing is of course something that's necessary for any company that wants to make sure it's business processes are running properly in systems, and allowing SAP Solution Manager to help monitor this can provide big benefits. Brikena Berisha of Corealm Consulting has put together a system involving SAP Quality Center by HP, SAP Test Acceleration and Optimization, HP QuickTest Professional, and SAP Solution Manager. In parts 1 and 2 , she walked through the process to connect Quality Center and Solution Manager and then installing and setting up SAP TAO and QTP. In part 3, "Define Test Requirements and Create and Execute Test Components as Part of Your Automated Testing Solution" , she looks at the test requirements and components, and then tying the whole solution back to Solution Manager. After you've finished up setting up the solution, you can see tes...Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:02:00 GMTInnovation Applies to More Than Just New Productshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Innovation-Applies-to-More-Than-Just-New-Products
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs The traditional software model goes like this: we make cool new software, sell it to companies that need it, they install it and use it to run their business. That&rsquo;s obviously a dramatic oversimplification, but you get the idea. And for a long time, SAP has functioned like most other software vendors, in this broad sense. Granted, SAP has been one of the best at this model and taken that model to places it has never been before, but it&rsquo;s the same basic model. But true innovation is about more than just developing cool new products &ndash; it&rsquo;s about bringing your business model to unexpected places. And a few of SAP&rsquo;s more recent products and acquisitions combine to provide a clear example of a business model being innovated &ndash; in this case, the ability to sell SAP-owned products to customers that are not currently and perhaps never plan to be users of SAP software. Case in point: SAP HANA . Yes, this is a very valuable inn...Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:46:00 GMTChanging the WIP Calculation Basis on Manufacturing Ordershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Changing-the-WIP-Calculation-Basis-on-Manufacturing-Orders
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting If you use the Cost Object Controlling submodule of Product Cost Controlling then you probably calculate Work-in-Process (WIP) on a periodic basis. WIP basically takes the difference between the debits and credits (if any) on an incomplete order and books the balance to a balance sheet account and an offsetting profit and loss account. I have used the term &ldquo;Manufacturing Orders as a generic term that encompasses the different types of cost objects used in manufacturing such as production orders, process orders, cost collectors, etc. The standard logic for WIP calculation (using a &ldquo;Product Cost by Order Scenario&rdquo;) is as follows: Status Status Description System Action PREL Partially released WIP is calculated on the basis of actual costs REL Relea sed WIP is calculated on the basis of actual costs DLV Delivered WIP is canceled and a variance is calculated TECO Technically completed WIP is canceled and a variance is calculated The a...Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:30:00 GMTEnhance your ABAP code without altering original SAP objectshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Enhance-your-ABAP-code-without-altering-original-SAP-objects
A repeated concern in adding modifications to code is that doing so can create unforeseen problems if you're not careful. As a result, many companies (and IT professionals themselves) resist modifications if they can find an alternative. In his latest SAP Professional Journal article , Faisal Altaf of DESCON Engineering presents such an alternative, implicit enhancements. Implicit enhancements enhance standard SAP objects such as includes, function modules and forms. They allow you to add functionality to the standard object without changing the objecti itself, which is obviously preferable, especially when upgrade time comes around. Of course, you can couple such an enhancement with other modifications if you so choose (Faisal includes a small modification is his example). He covers two types of implicit enhancements: Static (declaration) enhancement Data declaration is part of a static enhancement (e.g., structure definitions TYPES, DATA, CONSTANTS, and STATICS) PUBLIC, PROTECTED...Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:03:00 GMTWhat do Ritalin and dashboards have in common?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/What-do-Ritalin-and-dashboards-have-in-common
By Molly Folan, Conference Producer I tried googling &ldquo;average attention span of an adult,&rdquo; but my results were scattered and irrelevant. It really wasn&rsquo;t much of a surprise to hear that it highly depends on several factors, from age and gender, to reliance on stimulant medication like Ritalin. The closest estimate I got (and the one that worked best in proving my later point) is this: &ldquo;The attention span for focused attention is very brief, with a maximum span, without any lapse at all, that may be as short as 8 seconds&hellip;.after a few seconds, it is likely that the person will look away, return to a previous task, or think about something else.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s hard to imagine that 8 seconds is all an adult is good for in &ldquo;one sitting.&rdquo; Well, I&rsquo;m not one to argue with science, mostly because in the past 10 minutes I&rsquo;ve checked the weather for this coming weekend, sent a few pictures of my daughter to friends, scheduled my next d...Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:41:00 GMTThe ever-present SAP workflowhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/The-ever-present-SAP-workflow
In her IT 2011 presentation, An up-to-date guide to SAP Business Workflow and its role within your SAP infrastructure, Ginger Gatling provides a great, high-level overview of this often underutilized SAP tool. Gatling states: SAP Business Workflow is a tool included with SAP NetWeaver&reg; that can be used to define new processes and automate processes using existing transactions and functions within SAP. SAP Business Workflow: 1. Automates and monitors business processes 2. Provides appropriate business knowledge of how to perform business processes 3. Enables active flow of information (Bringing the right information at the right time to the right people, distributing work according to business rules, supplying exception handling and deadline monitoring) 4. Provides metrics on business processes (Benchmarking, continuous improvement, and KPI alerting) In layman&rsquo;s terms, SAP Business Workflow standardizes a process. By ensuring the right tasks, happen at the right time, by t...Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:45:00 GMTImporting and Exporting of SAP Queries between clientshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/Importing-and-Exporting-of-SAP-Queries-between-clients
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting SAP Query is a very useful tool that functional consultants and power users can use to quickly create reports by joining tables or accessing a logical database. A great benefit of SAP Queries is that you do not require ABAP knowledge to create these reports, and you can use them for your benefit alone or make them available to a wider user base. Moving a query from one client to the other normally requires a transport request. However, this is sometimes limits the flexibility of wanting to quickly see how a report will be run in a different client. Also, you are limited by the direction of the transport landscape. For example if you created a query in the Quality Assurance client you cannot move it to the any other system if since QA client is not normally set up for automatic change recording and will hence not generate a transport for you to move it elsewhere. An easier way to move queries between clients is to use the download/upload functionali...Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:52:00 GMTWhat is there to do in Las Vegas in November?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/August/What-is-there-to-do-in-Las-Vegas-in-November
November is the perfect time of the year to go to Las Vegas! Average Temperatures in November in Las Vegas Average High Temperature in November in Las Vegas : 67 F (19.4 C) Average Low Temperature in November in Las Vegas : 42 F (5.5 C) Average Rainfall in November in Las Vegas : .43&rdquo; Average Humidity in November in Las Vegas : 31% Reason #1 to travel to Las Vegas this November is our Managing your SAP Projects and Outsourcing in your SAP Environment events! While Las Vegas is well known for all of its casinos theres are many other things to do there that don&rsquo;t involve gambling. Nature Attractions - www.ehow.com/list_7210470_things-do-las-... The Flamingo Hotel and Casino offers a wildlife exhibit for exotic animal lovers. Just past the lobby, over 300 birds are on display. Some of the birds featured are penguins, swans, ducks and the pink flamingos. The exhibit features exotic plants imported from around the world and a stream full of koi fish and turtles. To celebrate...Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:31:00 GMTWhat Would YOU Sacrifice Before Giving Up Your Mobile?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/What-Would-YOU-Sacrifice-Before-Giving-Up-Your-Mobile
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs There&rsquo;s no doubt most teens would forfeit their left arm before they gave up their cell phone (as long as they could still text with their right). But you might be surprised at what your boss, your co-workers &ndash; and maybe even you &ndash; would give up before handing over their preferred mobile device to the IT organization. A new Sybase survey found that 39% of professionals in the U.S. and the UK would give up free food in the office to be able to use their own mobile device. Nearly one-third of those polled would buy their own office supplies before letting IT assign them their mobile device. And a full 58% of us would give up free coffee in exchange for being able to use our own device. An office without free coffee? I like my iPhone, but without coffee, I can't see the icons!!! All kidding aside, Sybase&rsquo;s survey emphasizes a very real and timely point in the enterprise mobility journey &ndash; there is a very strong preference for...Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:08:00 GMTDesigning Dashboards: First Decide What You Wanthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Designing-Dashboards-First-Decide-What-You-Want
Tip Doctor, Insider Learning Network. The following tip is taken from the BusinessObjects Expert article &ldquo; Interested in Dashboard Design? A Methodical Approach to Creating an Xcelsius Dashboard &rdquo; by Sandesh Darne, published in May 2011. The success of any dashboard design depends on understanding what business executives and managers expect from it for measurement and monitoring of business elements. Often, requirements are articulated as follows: &ldquo;I would like to see a competitive sales comparison dashboard&rdquo; or &ldquo;I need to know the demand in the last quarter. What is the quarterly growth in sales? What is the product market share?&rdquo; The challenge is to transform these requirements into dashboard functionalities that provide answers in an at-a-glance screen. More elaboration on requirements provides a better description of the dashboard. You can achieve this by: Understanding the executive&rsquo;s mental model of a dashboard Carrying out a detaile...Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:17:00 GMTMost frequent SAP change control technology topics at SAPPHIRE NOW - Concern No 2: Degree of Automationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Most-frequent-SAP-change-control-technology-topics-at-SAPPHIRE-NOW-Concern-No-2-Degree-of-Automatio
In recent blogs, we have been discussing the five most frequent SAP change control technology topics of discussion brought up with the team at RSC's 'Simplifying SAP Change Control' booth at SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando 2011. To recap, these were, ease of use, degree of automation, enforceability, ease of configuration and costs to implement. In this post I drill down into the 'degree of automation' topic discussing its importance in SAP change control technology and its value in reducing the risks and costs associated with delivering change into SAP Production systems. Concern No 2: Degree of Automation Degree of automation was the second most frequent topic of discussion raised to our booth staff by those interested in or considering an SAP change control technology. The many booth visitors who spoke to us about the topic seemed to be concerned about two key areas of automation. The first being the automation of SAP Transports deployment (technical automation) and the second being the au...Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:51:00 GMTEffortless master data maintenance of your SAP G/L Accountshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Effortless-master-data-maintenance-of-your-SAP-GL-Accounts
Paul Ovigele , Ovigele Consulting A very neat way of maintaining G/L account master data is by using the &ldquo;Hierarchy Display&rdquo; functionality. This enables you to see all the existing accounts and easily decide which new number to insert or which similar account can be copied. This view has the feel of one of SAP&rsquo;s &ldquo;Enjoy&rdquo; transactions, because you can perform multiple functions using a single screen. You can get to the hierarchy display view by going to the normal G/L account master data screen (transaction FS00) and by selecting the option &lsquo;Settings - /p p /p p /p p /p p a href="http://www.sap-press.com/products/100-Things-You-Should-Know-About-Financial-Accounting-with-SAP.html" /a a target="_blank" href="http://www.sap-press.com/products/100-Things-You-Should-Know-About-Financial-Accounting-with-SAP.html" /a a /a /p p /p p b br / /b /p p span style="text-decoration: underline;" a target="_blank" href="https://secure2.wispubs.com/ILN_QA/index.asp...Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:42:00 GMTKicking off an enterprise wide mobile project?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Kicking-off-an-enterprise-wide-mobile-project
Over the past few months, I&rsquo;ve spent a great deal of time researching the topic of enterprise mobility and how it&rsquo;s affecting SAP customers today. While deciding on the types of applications, platforms, and devices are some of the biggest challenges companies are currently facing, the biggest pain point I&rsquo;ve seen is how an organization can wrap its arms around a developing a full mobile strategy. As it stands, most organizations take on a more fragmented approach, building custom apps as needed. This works fine in the short term, but eventually when the need for more applications continues to grow; this fragmented approach just won&rsquo;t make the cut. Companies are now realizing that taking on a more standardized strategy can be much more cost effective in the long run. But undertaking such a large scale mobile standardization project can be extremely complicated as it affects so many areas of the business. This is why we&rsquo;ve recruited a number of top speak...Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:34:00 GMTDiscover the effectiveness of Learning Maps for hosting documentationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Discover-the-effectiveness-of-Learning-Maps-for-hosting-documentation
One of the most important parts of SAP Solution Manager is its ability to store and organize documentation during implementations. Storing this documentation has several uses -- as a record of what happened, for a reminder for users involved in the project, and for training future end users who are unfamiliar with the functionality. In his latest Solution Manager Expert article , Solution Manager team lead Rohan Parikh introduces you to Learning Maps. Learning Maps allow you to store this training material or documentation for future use. Rohan covers the features, setup, step-by-step configuration, and maintenance of Learning Maps in the article. He also discusses useful scenarios for Learning Maps, which I'll share here: Of course, the most important use as SAP intended is for the storing and publishing of training material in the Realization phase of an SAP project. This can be tailored to specific users or groups. As you have seen, you can access it through a Web browser withou...Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:31:00 GMTCase studies in ABAP encapsulation techniqueshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Case-studies-in-ABAP-encapsulation-techniques
I mentioned in a previous blog post that the last SAP Professional Journal issue ended up having a bit of an information management theme. It looks like the next issue is going to have a decidedly techier tone, which I'm sure out developer readership will appreciate. That's right: We've got lots of ABAP content coming. First up is an article by James Wood, principal at Bowdark Consulting and author of the SAP PRESS book Object-Orienting Programming with ABAP Objects . The article, "Case Study: Encapsulation Design Techniques in ABAP" introduces you conceptually to encapsulation techniques, which involve capturing includes and methods within an object. James walks you through four case studies using these techniques, giving you code samples and his thought process behind each technique. I'll share a sample of one of the case studies with you below: Case Study 1: Isolating Business Rules With each case study, I&rsquo;ll take you through three subsections: diagnosis, observations, and...Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:44:00 GMTExtracting Value from Unstructured Data Must Come from the Business, Not IThttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Extracting-Value-from-Unstructured-Data-Must-Come-from-the-Business-Not-IT
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Many organizations today are investigating the best ways to extract value from the incredible volumes of unstructured data being produced in their enterprise. And frankly, most of what I&rsquo;ve read about this made me think there is a LOT of work involved in finding the useful needles within the unstructured haystacks &ndash; possibly more work than it&rsquo;s worth for some organizations. But this week, I read a fascinating research briefing from MIT&rsquo;s Center for Information Systems Research that put forward a boiled-down strategy for making the most of unstructured data, which has me thinking it&rsquo;s not only possible, but valuable. And the the takeaway for the IT organization: this one&rsquo;s on the business, not you. To dramatically oversimplify it, the strategy in the CISR briefing goes like this: for data to add value it must be used. To be used, data must be searchable. To be searchable, data must or should have metadata. And unstruc...Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:40:00 GMTLet's Not Take On-Demand for Grantedhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Lets-Not-Take-On-Demand-for-Granted
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs While watching Sanjay Poonen&rsquo;s recent YouTube video outlining SAP&rsquo;s portfolio strategy (after being gone on vacation last week, I had to find out what all the buzz was about), I couldn&rsquo;t help but note the synergy between a core part of his message &ndash; the power of on-demand &ndash; and the delivery method he chose in which to deliver it &ndash; YouTube. For those of you who haven&rsquo;t seen Poonen&rsquo;s presentation yet, take a look here . It&rsquo;s a clear, up-front overview of SAP&rsquo;s solution lineup, including a good look at where SAP is focusing its efforts going forward. (Fellow blogger Scott Priest wrote a great review of the presentation here on ILN as well.) When Poonen describes SAP&rsquo;s Business ByDesign on-demand product lineup, he emphasizes that it&rsquo;s &ldquo;possible for customers to use this as a platform to build their own applications or platform as a service.&rdquo; Here, I think, he hits on the k...Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:44:00 GMTMobility in Australia is Challenginghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Mobility-in-Australia-is-Challenging
I had the privilege of speaking at a conference in Australia this week and spending time with many utilities and construction companies. The challenges in Australia can be highlighted by this image of a snake, provided by Jeff Morgan from Electrix taken from the window of a utility vehicle in Australia. This snake is of a very aggressive and deadly nature. I was also intrigued by the many spider stories that were shared by the field engineers that I spent time with this week. Seems spiders really like electrical meter boxes. In addition to the biting and stinging variety of challenges, there are many connectivity challenges in a country as big and remote as Australia. It doesn't take long to lose connectivity once you leave the main roads in Australia. Companies use specialized radios and satellite phones and up-links a lot in this region. Any mission critical mobile application such as field services and enterprise asset management needs to be designed to work equally well connect...Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:27:16 GMTWhy an implementation project-based approach may be for youhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Why-an-implementation-project-based-approach-may-be-for-you
When companies first implemented SAP Solution Manager, they often used global template project functionality as opposed to implementation projects. As Lori Sanders of Enowa Consulting notes in her latest Solution Manager Expert article, "Shift from a Template Project-Based Approach to an Implementation Project-Based Approach for Additional Functionality," these companies felt that the implementation projects lacked some key functionality that the template projects could offer. However, as companies progressed through their use of Solution Manager, they found a key component missing. Template projects don't allow you to make any alterations directly in documents without going through the template first, which can be a hassle. Lori takes you through an example company's transition to implementation projects, which give more flexibility and added functionality. Here's a snippet from the article: Because I am converting template projects to an implementation project, I need to move all...Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:40:00 GMTThe five most frequent SAP change control technology topics of discussion at SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/The-five-most-frequent-SAP-change-control-technology-topics-of-discussion-at-SAPPHIRE-NOW-Orlando-20
With the Revelation Software Concepts team having just spent three long days on the floor at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando few months ago, I was keenly interested to hear what the key topics of conversation were at RSC's &lsquo;Simplifying SAP Change Control&rsquo; booth. In this article, I overview the five key areas users and decision makers were most interested to learn about when speaking with the team around SAP change control technology options. Surprisingly, ease of use, degree of automation, enforceability, ease of configuration and costs to implement a technology were the key areas of interest this year. Perhaps as the result of SAP change teams and technology users being far more knowledgeable on the subject of SAP change control technology than in years past and many having had direct user experience with a technology. Ease of use Firstly, users were interested in how easy a change control technology is to use. Many on the change team will find themselves interacting with a change control technology daily and so how intuitive a technology is and how familiar they may be with the GUI, set up and or configuration certainly goes a very long way to ensuring their acceptance of the product. Several of the issues cited for asking about ease of use centred on user issues, time and intensity of ongoing user training efforts and the likelihood of users looking for and using a work around. Degree and ease of automation Next, users were interested in the degree of automation a change control technology might provide. Depending on the technology, there can be significant variations in both the degree of automation provided and how the automation is accesses or applied. For example, how change is detected, how and when transports may be deployed, how transport sequencing errors might be detected, what actions kick off workflow alerts and how the approval process might be automated. The degree of automation provided has a significant bearing on the amount of human effort (cost and risk) removed from the change process by the technology. Enforceability Thirdly, users were interested in how easy, or possible, it might be to enforce the use of the technology or any particular change process. Particularly important if the technology is difficult to use, enforcement prevents users coming up with creative workarounds. If the technology can tolerate user workarounds then an amount of change will go unnoticed into production and without adequate audit trail. Understanding the degree of flexibility around enforcement configuration and whether or not the disciplines can be enforced with relative ease is an important element of change control technology success. Ease of configuration Next, users wanted to know how simple (or not) the change control technology might be to configure, set up and change. Whether or not a team is going be stuck with limited control over process and user configuration has a strong bearing on ongoing change control flexibility. An organisation&rsquo;s change control processes, SAP landscape environment and organisational structure tend to be dynamic and so a high degree of configuration flexibility can be empowering. Costs to implement Finally, users were interested in the all-important implementation and ongoing costs of a change control technology. Things like the number of estimated days to full productive use combined with the daily cost of the implementation team and internal resource requirements have a significant impact on the total cost of a change control technology project. One of the traps, as with any technology project, is not have a full and clear understanding of such cost variables before embarking on a project. Final word Together, ease of use, degree of automation, enforceability, ease of configuration and costs to implement can make or break a SAP change control technology project. By drilling down into each of these areas during technology evaluation SAP change organisations can save themselves a great deal of user frustration, save wasted effort and save hard to come by budget money by arriving at the right decision before selection rather than after.Thu, 14 Jul 2011 01:19:00 GMTSAP's solutions and portfolio strategy straight from the sourcehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/SAPs-solutions-and-portfolio-strategy-straight-from-the-source
Some SAP customers have been critical that SAP hasn't always been up front with its strategy, leaving customers to guess when making business-critical commitments to certain software and hardware. SAP president of global solution Sanjay Poonen took a step toward debunking this thought by posting this nine-minute video to YouTube this morning, laying out exactly how SAP views its solution portfolio and strategy into future years. As you might expect, one of the major focus points of the strategy is mobility. Poonen notes that the number of users on mobile devices will soon outnumber users on desktops, which is part of what fueled the SAP acquisition of Sybase in the first place. That acquisition, in concert with the development of HANA, then fuels the development of Business ByDesign, "the world's first modern, on-demand platform," the use of which he broadens beyond small and medium-sized companies to subsidiaries of larger companies. One interesting note Poonen makes about HANA: f...Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:23:00 GMTData Security: An Insomniac's Worst Enemyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Data-Security-An-Insomniacs-Worst-Enemy
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs At first I worried that writing another blog about data security issues would come across as overly negative. You know, here comes Johnny Badnews with his scare tactics and statistics. But a recent conversation with a data security expert along with some recent CIO survey data convinced me this issue cannot be overemphasized today and many IT professionals are extremely concerned about this topic for good reason. First the survey data . According to a survey out this week from Robert Half Technology (appropriately named the CIO Insomnia Project) nearly one-quarter of CIOs listed data security as the issue that keeps them up at night most. That&rsquo;s far ahead of hardware and system upgrades or any other IT concern. The survey also found that 65% of CIOs estimate the average company experiences three or more IT security breaches per year. Now the blatant scare tactics . This graphic showing the 19 biggest data breaches of all time is enough to give an...Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:00:00 GMTThe Business Case for Secure Managed File Transfer (featuring SEEBURGER'S Bill Metallo)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/July/The-Business-Case-For-Secure-Managed-File-Transfer-Featuring-SEEBURGERs-Bill-Metallo
In this ILN exclusive podcast, Bill Metallo, VP of Operations at SEEBURGER, provides some practical tips and information on the business case and benefits of secure file transfer. For more information, read the SEEBURGER white paper entitled Beyond STFP: Five Ways Secure Managed File Transfer Can Improve Your Business at http://whitepapers.sapinsideronline.comFri, 08 Jul 2011 12:29:48 GMTKISS your dashboards!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/KISS-your-dashboards
By Molly Folan, Conference Producer Ask anyone who knows anything about dashboard design, and they&rsquo;ll tell you one thing: K-I-S-S: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Obtaining simplicity in dashboards is similar to obtaining it in life. Think about it. It requires a change in the way you view the world &mdash; a new perspective on life. You&rsquo;re forced to evaluate every element of your lifestyle and determine what&rsquo;s necessary and what&rsquo;s not. Same goes for dashboards. The best dashboard designs are simple because they contain no unnecessary elements, and the necessary elements in a way that makes sense. When a design doesn&rsquo;t quite hit the mark, designers often add elements when they really should remove unnecessary ones. Sometimes, it&rsquo;s actually better to start over instead of trying to fix the design. All the time, it&rsquo;s tricky to determine which approach is best. We know people don't have time to learn things that are too complicated. This is why we&rsq...Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:16:00 GMTSpace shuttles, ERP projects, ballplayers and the sunk cost fallacyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/July/Space-shuttles-ERP-projects-ballplayers-and-the-sunk-cost-fallacy
By Davin Wilfrid, insiderRESEARCH J.D. Drew might be the least popular Red Sox player in history. It's not that he's a bad player -- it's that he's probably not worth his $14 million per year salary, which many hard-working fans consider a personal affront. Listening to a local sports talk radio show a few days ago, I heard a caller insist that Drew should be benched in favor of a promising young outfielder named Josh Reddick. "You can't bench J.D. Drew. He makes too much money to sit on the bench," the host replied. Leaving aside the merits of the argument*, the host's response illustrates a psychological quirk that affects the decision-making process not only in baseball, but in the space program, war policy, and ERP projects. The sunk cost fallacy was first described in the early 1980s by researchers at Ohio University. They found that people who had purchased season tickets to the theater were more likely to go to plays than those who had not -- regardless of whether they actua...Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:53:00 GMTSetting up an automated testing solution among multiple technologieshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Setting-up-an-automated-testing-solution-among-multiple-technologies
I mentioned earlier this month that we were starting another series of articles on Solution Manager Expert , this one about an automated testing solution by Corealm Consulting Company's Brikena Berisha. The solution involves using SAP Solution Manager alongside three other technologies: SAP Test Acceleration and Optimization (SAP TAO), HP QuickTest Professional, and SAP Quality Center by HP. The first article focused on creating a project in SAP Solution Manager and SAP Quality Center, and connecting the two. The second article in the series focuses mainly on SAP TAO, specifically on downloading and activating it, and then applying settings on different tabs, including the PFA tab: On the PFA tab, specify the Test Folder Path and Path to Default Components values. Then select the Overwrite Test With Same Name check box. In Maximum Number of Tests, specify how many tests you want to be stored in the Repository. I chose 80 in my example, but the number differs depending on the situat...Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:00 GMTSAP Solution Manager: Implementing Templateshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/SAP-Solution-Manager-Implementing-Templates
Tip Doctor , Insider Learning Network. This tip is excerpted from &ldquo; Standardize Your Business Processes with Template Management in SAP Solution Manager ,&rdquo; which was published in Solution Manager Expert in April 2010 (Volume 3, Update 4) by Doreen Baseler, Senior Product Manager, SAP AG. Template management is a dedicated process found in application life cycle management (ALM), an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-driven SAP model that provides processes, tools, services, and an organizational model you can use to manage both SAP and non-SAP solutions throughout a complete application life cycle. Template management begins with setting up a template, and then building it. After that comes the implementation. The template is rolled out to regions and implemented by local rollout teams using implementation projects. The template implementation process involves the activities shown in Figure 1 . Figure 1 Activities in template implementation As you can...Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:06:00 GMTMobile Apps Planned - Interesting numbershttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Mobile-Apps-Planned-Interesting-numbers
Interesting numbers/analysis from a research group on the question "How many mobile APP's do you plan to create/deploy in your company?". Of 225 companies with more than $100M in yearly revenue answered: No mobile APP's planned: 10% 1-4 APP's planned: 27% 5-19 APP's planned: 44% /p p /pWed, 29 Jun 2011 20:40:00 GMTThe Risk of IT Mandates: A Cautionary Tale from the U.S. Governmenthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/The-Risk-of-IT-Mandates-A-Cautionary-Tale-from-the-U-dot-S-dot-Government
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs When the White House first appointed a Federal CIO in 2009, many IT market watchers thought &ldquo;Hmm, that sounds like one step towards emulating how a successful business manages IT.&rdquo; And when Federal CIO Vivek Kundra began meeting with IT industry leaders to discuss cloud computing and later released a 25-point IT transformation plan for the U.S. government including a major data center consolidation project , I&rsquo;ll admit I really started to think some corporate IT strategy was sinking in down there in Washington and even praised some of Kundra's efforts. Well, apparently, in addition to borrowing from corporate IT&rsquo;s best practices, the Feds are also emulating some of the most common mistakes made in the IT business. After two years in the post and only months after laun ching a major IT transformation project, Kundra announced he&rsquo;s bailing out for a fellowship at Harvard . Apparently, when his budgets were slashed and some o...Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:07:00 GMTRequirements Based Change Management and Change Controlhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Requirements-Based-Change-Management-and-Change-Control
Requirements based change is not a new mode of thinking by any means, but like most thinking the better thoughts take some time to make their way into everyday use. In a recent discussion with a senior SAP architect in the UK the subject of managing change by business requirement came up and since this was the second time I had heard the term in a change control context, I decided to look into how change control technologies like Rev-Trac may add value within a requirements based change management framework. Requirement based change A requirement is a capability which a software development (change) is designed to deliver and the purpose of requirements based change management is to assure the organization documents, verifies and meets the requirement. A requirement may be as granular as a single development or as broad as a significant business project. Requirement management During the process of development or project delivery the requirements may evolve, vary or change signific...Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:36:00 GMTAgile Development and Change Control Automation: Part IIIhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Agile-Development-and-Change-Control-Automation-Part-III
So far in this three part series we have been sharing our thoughts around agile SAP development and change control. Having teased out the concept of agile development and discussed how to wrap a change control process around it, in this final article we discuss how change control automation can hold it all together. Agile change control As development goes through its agile cycle it is important that an audit trail of approval and rejection of various iterations are recorded, appropriate documentation is collated and the technical changes (transports) referenced. In addition, an efficient workflow and approval process needs to be in place to keep the development progressing and visibility between requirements and / or developments to prevent inadvertent parallel development and possible overtake or overwriting errors is essential, particularly where high volumes of change are occurring across multiple requirements. All together, the audit trail, collated documentation, transport re...Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:28:00 GMTAdvanced Trend Forecasting in BPC/Excel - Step-by-Step examplehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Advanced-Trend-Forecasting-in-BPCExcel-Step-by-Step-example
By Dr. Berg Every spring I teach a Management Science class for MBA&rsquo;s where we cover the latest in advanced forecasting. For example, in ECC we have options that use factors to discover and adjust for weekly trends, underlying growth patters and changes. We call these Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma factors. Unfortunately, these models have limited support in BPC. In this Blog, I will demonstrate how you can make use of these options by a step-by-step example using basic Excel functions. The Problem We are trying to forecast sales by month for a product that has extremely high season changes. The historical unit sales over the last 108 months appear to be erratic as in the figure below. We will use this data to build a model that can forecast sales for 2011. The problem is to build a model that can predict this sales pattern 100% correctly (yes, it can be done), let us see how: Step- 1 Determining Base Line Seasonality We look at the average sales in a time overall period (i.e....Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:45:00 GMTData's Value is in its Quality, Not its Quantity: A History Lesson from the Soviet Unionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Datas-Value-is-in-its-Quality-Not-its-Quantity-A-History-Lesson-from-the-Soviet-Union
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I have a friend who grew up in the Soviet Union and I&rsquo;m constantly asking him questions about his childhood and life under Communism. It&rsquo;s fascinating because most of what he tells me we were never taught in history class here in the U.S. during the Cold War. And there are some intriguing business lessons from his tales about life behind the iron curtain. (Stay with me here). For example, I grew up with the understanding that religion was &ldquo;banned&rdquo; in the Soviet Union . But my friend has told me, it was not actually banned everywhere, although it was very closely tracked and monitored. As people entered a church, he recalled, there would be a government agent writing down all of the names of those who entered the church on that date and time and when they left. In fact, my friend told me the Soviet government tracked a LOT of things, collecting massive piles of data about its people, their movements, and their lives. It was never...Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:41:00 GMTGet to know SAP NetWeaver AS Java Schedulerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Get-to-know-SAP-NetWeaver-AS-Java-Scheduler
If you're unfamiliar with Java Scheduler, Robert Heidasch's latest SAP Professional Journal article, "Create New Jobs and Schedule Existing Ones with Java Scheduler in SAP NetWeaver AS Java," is a great place to start. Java Scheduler is similar to the ABAP Scheduler -- transactions SM36 and SM37 in SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP -- which is an ABAP-based job scheduler. You can schedule jobs based on times you want them to run, or trigger them to run after certain events. I'll let Robert take it from there: Because SAP NetWeaver AS Java implements an object-oriented architectural approach, Java Scheduler uses the same approach in developing jobs. This means the business application provider defines one or many jobs based on Java message-driven beans (classes written in Java that allow you to encapsulate many objects into a single object) that implement the business process or logic in the background process. Robert goes on to explain the features of Java Scheduler, as well as the configurati...Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:08:00 GMTGetting Xcelsius Requirements - A Real Examplehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Getting-Xcelsius-Requirements-A-Real-Example
Yesterday I was contacted by a large car manufacturing company asking how to approach the building of dashboards and how to get the &lsquo;right&rsquo; requirements. They asked if ASAP was the best methodology for this work. The answer is &lsquo;not normally&rsquo;. In this blog I will provide a real example of a customer dashboard project that I am working on in California and show how Rapid Application Development (RAD) is often a better alternative. The First Step &ndash; Data Scope First step is to examine the data fields available. There is no point in creating pie-in-the-sky dashboards that are not tied to reality. Last fall, I was executing a brainstorming session in Singapore for the Asian operation of a large company. The first thing we did was providing our User Acceptance Team (UAT) a list of available fields that was considered &lsquo;in-scope&rsquo;. This helped keeping the brainstorming session grounded in reality of what could be delivered, and also clarified to the...Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:21:00 GMTExpert Advice on How to Fine-Tune Your SAP Mobility Strategyhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/June/WinniHeselonMobility
In the exclusive podcast, mobility expert Winni Hesel of Enowa Consulting answers some of the most common questions that SAP users have, including: matching your mobile and on-premise strategy, evaluating SAP&rsquo;s mobile strategy, navigating the app explosion and the BYOD challenge, and more.Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMTCartoon #3: You Write the Caption!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Cartoon-3-You-Write-the-Caption
It's time to write the caption again! I think we all have felt this way before. Write your caption by posting a comment on this blog with your caption. The funnier the better!Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:54:00 GMTA tip for verifying your Root Cause Analysishttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/A-tip-for-verifying-your-Root-Cause-Analysis
In Jim Baxter's latest Solution Manager Expert article, he provides eight tips surrounding Root Cause Analysis (RCA) that can help you verify that you've implemented it correctly. With all the complicated configuration involved -- which we've covered previously here and here -- it's possible that mistakes occurred, undermining the whole process. Here's a sneak peek at one piece of step 6, which focuses on the SMD agent and the SAPHOSTAGENT installation. Depending on which SAP Solution Manager system and satellite systems versions you are using, ensure that the correct versions of SAPHOSTAGENT and SMD agents are installed. For instance, for agents for SAP NetWeaver 7.1 with enhancement package 1 and SAP NetWeaver 7.0 with enhancement package 2, the system ID is usually DAA. For older versions, such as SAP NetWeaver 7.0 with enhancement package 1, the system ID is SMD. Table 1 can help you make this decision, but you should also check SAP Service Marketpl ace for the latest informati...Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:57:00 GMTXcelsius Step-By-Step: using Query as a web Service (QaaWs)http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Xcelsius-Step-By-Step-using-Query-as-a-web-Service-QaaWs
By Dr. Berg A few years back, I saw a great presentation by Joerg Boeke that covered QaaWs and decided to give it a try -- and it worked!! In this blog and will cover the steps so that you can also leverage this data access feature. Background As we now have BICS connectors for Xcelsius and soon will have it for WebI as well in BI-4.0, some have asked if we can still use QaaWs in BOBJ. The answer is yes. However, it is a solution that has some limitations. QaaWs with BW does not have good support for hierarchies. Also, the work built cannot be easily shared with others and access has to be managed, often case-by-case and query-by-query. The benefit of QaaWs is that it is a web 'standard' and has been available for quite some time. So let us take a step-by-step look on how you can use QaaWs for your Xcelsius dashboards: STEP-BY-STEP A. Universe Designer 1. Create Universe Connect to the SAP NetWeaver BW system Navigate by InfoCube and select query Input connection settings (i.e., wh...Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:52:00 GMTBPC Bootcamp in Chicago this week!!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/BPC-Bootcamp-in-Chicago-this-week
Hi All, For those of you that are unaware there is a great Seminar Series going on this week for those interested in getting a leg up on SAP's strategic Business Planning and Consolidation Solution(s), BPCBootcamp (www.bpcbootcamp.com). There are two key solutions that we are discussing this week. They both share the same name... almost. SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation, version for SAP NetWeaver SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation, version for the Microsoft Platform This week we will dive into a variety of different topics ranging from understanding the future direction of SAP's planning and consolidations products to getting down and dirty into the weeds of BPC functionality both on the Consolidation and the Planning side of the house. For those of you that missed registration for this weeks Seminar, not to worry there are sessions coming up in Philadelphia and Orlando shortly. Hope to see you all there! Cheers, Scott Cairncross (@scottcairncross)Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:09:00 GMTFriday glass of whine: Pardon the disruption but can I have that word back?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Friday-glass-of-whine-Pardon-the-disruption-but-can-I-have-that-word-back
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I have been around the IT industry long enough to have seen a myriad of buzzwords come and go (and sometimes even come back again). Every industry has them, but IT just seems to become enamored with certain phrases. I remember when &ldquo;marketplaces&rdquo; swept the IT industry (they were web sites). I&rsquo;ve watched &ldquo;software&rdquo; become &ldquo;solutions&rdquo; and I sat idly by while &ldquo;companies&rdquo; grew into &ldquo;enterprises&rdquo; overnight. I remember a wildly frustrated colleague becoming fed up with the outright abuse of the word &ldquo;system&rdquo; in the magazine we worked on. &ldquo;Everything is a system today!&rdquo; she shouted, picking up a pen. &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a pen anymore &ndash; it&rsquo;s a &hellip; a writing system!&rdquo; (Two minutes later our manager poked her head in and asked my colleague to print out an article for her because her &ldquo;system was down.&rdquo; I honestly thought my co-worker&rsq...Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:59:00 GMTTell us what projects you are working on!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/Tell-us-what-projects-you-are-working-on
Take the poll below and tell us what projects you have lined up for 2012! The Managing your SAP Projects conference will take place November 2-4 in Las Vegas and is a great resource to help you plan, manage, and execute your upcoming projects!Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:33:00 GMTThe Role of M&A in Vendor Selectionhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/June/The-Role-of-MA-in-Vendor-Selection
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs At first, I thought it was a lucky coincidence. When I was interviewing the Campbell Soup Co . about their use of SAP BPC, I learned they had used software from OutlookSoft before it was acquired by SAP. Of course, they were were thrilled to hear that SAP bought OutlookSoft because it made their IT landscape a bit less complicated. &ldquo;Lucky break for you&rdquo; I actually said to the folks at Campbell &rsquo;s. But it wasn&rsquo;t the first time I had heard about such a lucky break. Not too long ago, I had been talking to an IT executive who had been using BusinessObjects solutions even before they used SAP. And when those two vendors married up, &ldquo;It was like we died and went to heaven&rdquo; the IT executive told me. Heaven, you say? So then I started getting curious and went back to some notes I took while interviewing an exec at an SAP customer who was also a strong proponent of the Sybase platform for mobile. Sure enough, he used some &ld...Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:50:00 GMTEvangelist Wanted! Mobile Security Requires the Right Voicehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Evangelist-Wanted-Mobile-Security-Requires-the-Right-Voice
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs We are in the midst of one of the most exciting technological revolutions in the history of business and the excitement has many of us taking our eyes off the security ball. The enterprise mobility wave is literally changing business before our eyes, but it also brings about some of the most widespread security risk we may ever see. I know you are rolling your eyes right now because you have a solid mobile security policy in place. You personally reviewed it and ensured all of the back-end technical issues mapped up. You signed off on it. It is a solid plan, covering all the bases. But unless every employee using a mobile device in your enterprise knows about the plan, it is not worth that paper it was written on. It&rsquo;s true. Many IT organizations have developed effective mobile security plans, but their far-flung sales, service, and other employees are not even aware of it. A recent study by McAfee and Carnegie Mellon University points out that 9...Thu, 26 May 2011 14:00:15 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Nick Brownhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Nick-Brown
Myself and fellow SAP Mentor John Appleby interview SAP's Nick Brown on SAP's enterprise mobility strategies, timelines and products. The audio on this video is rather poor, but the content is great, so crank up the volume and put on the headset. I have even experimented with adding captions. Watch the video here . Additional videos by Kevin Benedict at SAPPHIRENOW 2011 Mobile Expert Video Series: Novus&rsquo; Dave Ploch Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Thortsen Stephan Mobile Expert Video Series: Clicksoftware&rsquo;s Nigel Clark Mobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl Mobile Expert Video Series: ClickSoftware's Moshe BenBassat Mobile Expert Video Series: Smartsoft Mobile's Ed Krufka Mobile Expert Video Series: Leapfactor's Luis Cabrera Mobile Expert Video Series: Smartsoft Mobile's Dan Homrich Mobile Expert Video Series: AMT-Sybex's Malachy Martin ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst,...Tue, 24 May 2011 23:15:00 GMTPutting together a strategy for Solution Manager documentationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Putting-together-a-strategy-for-Solution-Manager-documentation
Documentation isn't the most buzz-worthy topic in the tech world. It doesn't have the buzz of sentiment analysis, the shiny dashboards of analytics, or the amazing speed of in-memory computing. But it doesn't mean it isn't necessary. It's important to keep track of your documentation, especially as teams grow and work in large, global systems. The best way to do it is to set forth a strategy, follow through on it, and then communicate that to your entire organization. Marci Braybrooks of IBIS America shows you how to do just that in her Solution Manager Expert article, "Architecting a Document Strategy in SAP Solution Manager." The key to such a strategy is organization and planning at the outset. Marci breaks this down into the following set of steps: The fundamental standards that must be defined and communicated prior to storing documents in SAP Solution Manager can be broken down as follows: What to store? Customize documentation types based on the internal methodology Determin...Tue, 24 May 2011 18:59:59 GMTHow Will the Data Explosion Impact Your IT Landscape?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/How-Will-the-Data-Explosion-Impact-Your-IT-Landscape
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I am not going to throw a bunch of statistics at you to tell you how much more data you have in your enterprise today than you did a few years ago. You know that. You see it. I will not cite the usual analyst study imploring you to make the most of this data. You have made that a top priority in your enterprise. I have seen that. No, today, I want to ask you how you plan to execute on the data opportunities that lie before you. And, more specifically, what the impact on your overall IT landscape will be as a result. As the amount and type of data you leverage changes and grows, so too does your IT landscape&mdash;it has to. You will not be able to leverage the new data with your current solution landscape because, frankly, some of the data has not even been imagined yet, so the solution to analyze it certainly has not either. So this is going to force you to make some decisions down the road&mdash;and you have probably made some already. For example, a...Tue, 24 May 2011 14:05:16 GMTMake the Most of Your SAP Solutions: A Roadmap for Enabling SAP Innovationshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Make-the-Most-of-Your-SAP-Solutions-A-Roadmap-for-Enabling-SAP-Innovations
Make the Most of Your SAP Solutions: A Roadmap for Enabling SAP Innovations A Webcast Series from SAP Consulting hosted by Michael Doane In this three-part Webcast series, Michael Doane, thought leader and noted author of The New SAP Blue Book and The SAP Green Book, with experts from the SAP Consulting organization, address key issues that will shape the future of your SAP solutions. You'll have a unique opportunity to hear firsthand from the experts and gain insight into implementation issues, learn best practices and address key next steps for your SAP solutions. Decide Better: Making Business Analytics Work for You Tuesday May 31 2011 1:00 PM EST Explore the current best practices for business analytics and see how innovations in technology will impact your strategies as you plan for the future. Run Faster: Improved Decision Making with Real-Time Analysis and Insight Tuesday June 14 2011 1:00 PM EST See how the groundbreaking hardware and software innovations behind SAP In-Memo...Mon, 23 May 2011 21:49:11 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Clicksoftware's Moshe BenBassathttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/1/January/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Clicksoftwares-Moshe-BenBassat
I was able to catch up with Dr. BenBassat, Founder/CEO of SAP Partner ClickSoftware and interview him on mobile enterprise strategies this week at SAPPHIRENOW 2011. This is Part 1 of 2. Watch Part 2 here . Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articlesThu, 19 May 2011 17:55:17 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Smartsoft Mobile's Ed Krufkahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Smartsoft-Mobiles-Ed-Krufka
Ed Krufka shows off their mobile enterprise asset managment application that SAP is demonstrating in the Mobility Theater. This is an iPad application. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, co nsultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 19 May 2011 17:47:34 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adhl, Part 1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Dr-dot-Ahmed-El-Adhl-Part-1
I was able to schedule two separate interviews with SAP's Dr. Ahmed El Adl yesterday. He shares his thoughts and insights on mobile enterprise strategies and services in this video. Watch the video here . Watch Part 2 here . Sponsored Ad: Pyxis Mobile provides an agile, powerful, and secure mobile enterprise application platform. It enables rapid cross-platform application development, unlimited data integration, enterprise-grade security, and the unique ability to change and update applications in real time. pyxismobile.com/ ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked...Thu, 19 May 2011 17:18:48 GMTMobile Expert Video Serie: Leapfactor's Luis Cabrerahttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Serie-Leapfactors-Luis-Cabrera
Leapfactor has a reputation for developing some of the most beautiful mobile applications in the market. Luis demonstrates some of their user interface skills in this video from SAPPIRENOW 2011. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 19 May 2011 17:12:09 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Smartsoft Mobile's Dan Homrichhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Smartsoft-Mobiles-Dan-Homrich
In the Mobility Theater this week I saw the SAP team demonstrating an enterprise asset management application on an iPad that was developed by SAP partner Smartsoft Mobile . I caught up with Smartsoft Mobile's CEO Dan Homrich to learn about the application and his mobility strategy. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 19 May 2011 17:05:20 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: AMT-Sybex's Malachy Martinhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-AMT-Sybexs-Malachy-Martin
Mobile expert and mobility veteran Malachy Martin shares his thoughts on mobile strategy and designing, developing, deploying and supporting complex mobile applications. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogge r. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 18 May 2011 21:12:03 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: SAP's Thortsen Stephanhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-SAPs-Thortsen-Stephan
Learn about SAP's mobility announcements this week from SAP's Thortsen Stephan in this interview. He explains SUP 2.0. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 18 May 2011 21:05:21 GMTSAPPHIRENOW 2011 Day 2 Mobility Photos!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAPPHIRENOW-2011-Day-2-Mobility-Photos
Day 2 at SAPPHIRENOW 2011 was "Mobility Day" with many mobility related announcements. The three from SAP were on: SUP (Sybase Unwired Platform) version 2.0 SAP and Accenture partnering to deliver mobile apps SAP announced 19 new mobile applications to be released by September 2011 Here is the photo slideshow related to enterprise mobility for Day 2. SLIDE SHOW! ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Money News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Wed, 18 May 2011 20:39:34 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Day 3 Keynote Does a DEEP Dive on HANAhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Day-3-Keynote-Does-a-DEEP-Dive-on-HANA
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs The Day 3 Keynote Presentation at SAPPHIRE NOW was an SAP geek&rsquo;s dream. It was a dual keynote with both Vishal Sikka, member of the SAP Executive Board, Technology and Innovation, and co-founder Hasso Plattner, chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP, spending more than two and a half hours talking about HANA and in-memory computing. If you had a question about HANA or in-memory computing, it was answered here. Sikka started by reviewing what he and Plattner talked about at SAPPHIRE NOW last year with regards to HANA, emphasizing that much of it is now reality. &ldquo;HANA was conceived in March 2010 and was delivered on November 30. The experience since then has been phenomenal,&rdquo; said Sikka. But Sikka spent most of his time on stage showing customer testimonials about how they&rsquo;re using HANA and their reactions. And there were some pretty powerful results from a variety of different industries and functions. ulWed, 18 May 2011 16:11:38 GMTHANA: The long road from promise to producthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/HANA-The-long-road-from-promise-to-product
by Davin Wilfrd, insiderRESEARCH In the past year, expectations for SAP's breakthrough in-memory computing technology have loomed ever larger. What was once a promise is now a product, and the pressure is on SAP to convince companies they need the power to analyze millions of rows of data in a fraction of a second. At this year's SAPPHIRE conference, SAP spent a considerable amount of time showing off business cases for HANA. The goal is to illustrate ways companies can leverage HANA to drive their business forward. A good example is Colgate-Palmolive, which is using HANA to do customer sales and profitability analytics for a large subsidiary. The company sells products in more than 200 countries, so understanding trends requires huge volumes of data. Analyzing sales data of specific brands at the local and regional level quickly gives Colgate-Palmolive the ability to adjust strategies and promotions on the fly. Akihiko Nakamura, SVP of Nomura Research Institute, gives HANA high ma...Wed, 18 May 2011 14:55:00 GMTPodcast: SAP BOBJ Analysis Expands Analytics to a Wider Audiencehttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Podcast-SAP-BOBJ-Analysis-Expands-Analytics-to-a-Wider-Audience
Imagine the time savings if you could query your SAP NetWeaver BW directly from Microsoft Excel or Powerpoint? No longer would you have to run reports, pull them into another tool and repurpose them. Well that&rsquo;s just one of the capabilities available in SAP BusinessObjects Analysis. To learn more about this fascinating solution (including the history of its various names&mdash;it was Voyager before it was Pioneer before it was Advanced Analysis), I recently talked with SAP expert Dr. Berg to get his thoughts on BOBJ Analysis. He detailed its functionality, what types of companies should be considering BOBJ Analysis and what SAP solutions they should have in place before implementing it. It's a "must" for anyone considering this solution. To get more detail, listen to this ILN exclusive podcast: MORE PODCASTS To hear more exclusive podcasts from the Insider Learning Network, go to the Podcast archive here .Tue, 17 May 2011 18:29:28 GMTThat company that's supposed to be buying SAP isn't doing so wellhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/That-company-thats-supposed-to-be-buying-SAP-isnt-doing-so-well
It seems that everyone in the ERP/tech space with access to a blogging tool has been speculating that HP would be buying SAP some time soon. And with former SAP CEO Leo Apotheker now at HP, and the Mark Hurd scandal, with Hurd landing at Oracle, there is something cinematic about such a prediction. Which makes it all the more amusing that you can read virtually endless content online being produced live from SAPPHIRE NOW about how exciting the future is for SAP (including our own blog posts here , here , and here ), HP is receiving negative press for disappointing financ ial results . HP's revised expectations were all well below Wall Street's forecasts, and shares of HP fell by more than 7%. The company said it is "working around the clock" to minimize the impact felt by the crisis in Japan, but HP still expects to take a $700 million hit to sales over the next six months. The big blow is due to reduced Japanese demand as well as supply constraints that have affected the entire te...Tue, 17 May 2011 18:09:21 GMTToday is Mobility Tuesday at SAP's SAPPHIRENOW 2011!!!http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Today-is-Mobility-Tuesday-at-SAPs-SAPPHIRENOW-2011
Today promises to be very interesting and busy at SAPPHIRENOW 2011. The focus of the day is mobility and a bunch of press releases have been published today. It will take me some time to read through all of them and to organize my thoughts around them all. I am sitting in the keynote conference area looking forward to hearing from the Co-CEOs of SAP this morning. There is a band set-up on stage. It ought to be a rock'in 9 AM keynote! I walked by the broadcast studio on the way in and saw Dr. Raj Nathan and John Chen. They were being interviewed and responding to questions from an audience in Germany over satelite. Yesterday I helped moderate two PCN (premier customer network) mobility roundtables. It was very interesting. Nearly every company said they were reluctant to roll out mobility due to security concerns. My suggestion to Sybase and SAP is to shine the spotlight on Afaria as a way to remove those concerns. Until those concerns are addressed, the companies I met with yesterday are moving in slow motion on mobility projects. I also met with Pyxis Mobile, Syclo, ClickSoftware, Smartsoft Mobile, Vivido Labs, K2 Partnering, Sybase, SAP Mobility and many other companies that have a significant presence here. ************************************************************* div /divTue, 17 May 2011 17:04:44 GMTSAP CEO gets his point across with Sales OnDemandhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAP-CEO-gets-his-point-across-with-Sales-OnDemand
By Scott Wallask , SAP Experts An SAP Sales OnDemand demo at Sapphire Now took place before a crowd of thousands during a keynote, but was aimed at individual interactions. Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-CEO of SAP, along with two of his colleagues, walked through a sample exchange of messages and status updates for a deal using the new Sales OnDemand tool. The software is part social media (real-time communication among sales team members), part pipeline (customer appointments and statistics), and part MapQuest (seeing where customers are located by zooming in and out of street maps). And the screen layout is simple and attractive. What a stamp of approval for the audience to see Snabe actually uses Sales OnDemand. It&rsquo;s executive buy-in to the 10 th power and a very clever move by SAP. &ldquo;This is not a transactional type of design,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a people-centric type of design.&rdquo; Clearly Sales OnDemand aims at people who use modern technology, such as ta...Tue, 17 May 2011 16:34:34 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Day 2 Keynote Keeps Things Up-Tempohttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Day-2-Keynote-Keeps-Things-Up-Tempo
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs It was hard not to feel upbeat during the Day 2 keynote at SAPPHIRE NOW when drummer extraordinaire Max Weinberg and his band were introduced for the Day 2 keynote, which featured a talk show set format for the one-on-one interviews. But a bit of flash and a very good jazz band only gets you so far. It was up to the SAP co-CEOs to get SAP customers feeling upbeat and they didn&rsquo;t disappoint, using new product demos, customer examples, and even a few light moments to get SAP customers focused on the future. SAP Co-CEO Bill McDermott took the stage first and said that between in-person and online, there were as many as 100,000 people participating in SAPPHIRE NOW, the most ever. McDermott took a customer focus, emphasizing the importance of monitoring and improving customer relationships in the online/social media world. Because today, when a customer is not happy, the word spreads quickly, he said, while a 5% increase in customer retention can incr...Tue, 17 May 2011 15:34:53 GMTSAPPHIRE NOW Already Has People Talkinghttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAPPHIRE-NOW-Already-Has-People-Talking
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs SAP&rsquo;s SAPPHIRE NOW conference kicked off this morning with a keynote, a panel discussion, and a major product release that had people talking. Irish actor Gabriel Byrne kicked off the keynote with a surprisingly powerful presentation on how technology will be leveraged in years to come. I say &ldquo;surprisingly&rdquo; because I wouldn&rsquo;t expect Gabriel Byrne to speak so well on some pretty heady topics like in-memory computing. He provided a bit more what you&rsquo;d expect from an actor &ndash; dramatic inspiration &ndash; toward the end when he said: &ldquo;Turn your what-ifs into why nots&rdquo; and closing with &ldquo;here&rsquo;s to all our futures and all the possible futures we are going to create together.&rdquo; (Interesting SAP selected an Irishman to speak, given the historic visit taking place in Dublin this week as well.) The panel discussion that followed the keynote on &ldquo;Business in the Future&rdquo; was very thought-pro...Mon, 16 May 2011 18:29:59 GMTEpic keynote kicks off SAPPHIRE NOWhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Epic-keynote-kicks-off-SAPPHIRE-NOW
SAPPHIRE NOW kicked off this morning with an impressive keynote address that began with a talk about the future of science and technology and ended with a panel discussion of where the technology world will be in 10/20/30 years from now. Actor Gabriel Byrne, of "Usual Suspects" fame, began the keynote with an epic discussion of the importance of innovation and how advancements in in-memory computing will affect different industries. Medicine, for example, he said will benefit from immediate test results that can be cross-checked against vast databases of patient histories to have immediate, accurate answers to almost any medical occurrence. The advancements in medical technology may even deliver the ability to diagnose complex medical issues to citizens of third-world cultures who have no medical training at all. Following Byrne's talk was a panel discussion ("Business in the Future -- A View to 2015 and Beyond"), led by Todd Stewart, chief marketing and knowledge officer at Booz &...Mon, 16 May 2011 16:02:56 GMTRecent interview with Yosh Eisbarthttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Recent-interview-with-Yosh-Eisbart
Dave Hannon recently conducted an interview with Yosh Eisbart a featured speaker at our upcoming Managing your SAP Projects event. The transcript is below. Enjoy! Dave Hannon : Hello, this is Dave Hannon with the SAPinside r . I'm speaking today with Yosh Eisbart, a cofounder and principal at NIMBL , and today we're going to be asking Yosh for some tips on managing your SAP implementation partners. Welcome, Yosh. Yosh Eisbart : Thanks so much, Dave. Dave : I want to start off with some information about interviewing a potential implementation partner. I think a lot of folks would like to know how you ensure you get the right partner for your implementation, not just a qualified provider in a general sense. Are there certain questions you should ask when you're interviewing a potential implementation partner? Yosh : Wow. I think that's a great question. I think, as a customer, I think that you really want to tackle it from two different points. One is from a reference perspective, i...Thu, 12 May 2011 20:22:27 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Bord GAIS' Michael Cahillhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Bord-GAIS-Michael-Cahill
This interview with Michael Cahill, Eastern Region Operational Manager with Bord GAIS in the Republic of Ireland, is very interesting in that his team implemented a complete enterprise asset management system ( IBM Maximo ) including workforce optimization and scheduling ( ClickSoftware ) and enterprise mobility ( Syclo ). Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read&nbsp; The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Money News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 12 May 2011 17:24:56 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Clicksoftware's Shamayun Miahhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/1/January/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Clicksoftwares-Shamayun-Miah
I met Shamayun from ClickSoftware at the Brussels Enterprise Mobility Exchange and sat down with him to learn what is new and interesting with ClickSoftware's enterprise mobility strategy, and Sybase and SAP partnerships. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Money News Weekly Read The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 12 May 2011 17:19:03 GMTMobile Expert Video Series: Sourcevolution's Pierre-Paul Samsonhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Mobile-Expert-Video-Series-Sourcevolutions-Pierre-Paul-Samson
I met Pierre-Paul in Brussels at the Enterprise Mobility Exchange. He was sharing information on their mobility platform called Freedomone at the conference. Watch the video here . ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the SAP Enterprise Mobility Group Read The Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Retailing News Weekly Read The Field Mobility News Weekly Read The Mobile Money News Weekly Read&nbsp; The M2M News Monthly Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.Thu, 12 May 2011 17:08:15 GMTThe Latest on SAP EDI, B2B and E-Invoicing at SAPPHIRE 2011http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/The-Latest-on-SAP-EDI-B2B-and-E-Invoicing-at-SAPPHIRE-2011
Here are a couple of sessions that anyone interested in EDI, B2B, e-Invoicing or the SAP Information Interchange by Crossgate at SAP's SAPPHIRE conference next week might want to attend. These appear to be end user led sessions so you can likely learn the good, bad and the ugly. Session Date / Time:Monday, May 16 13:30-15:00 Session Title: Brown-Forman l SAP Information Interchange by Crossgate Session Description: Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies and among the top 10 largest global spirits companies, sells its brands in more than 135 countries. Entering new markets creates complex customer & supplier integration projects as well as the need to comply with government mandates such as EU and Brazil and Mexico's e-invoicing initiatives. Organizations looking to expand their business into new countries must be able to comply with these integration requirements. Learn how Brown-Forman transformed their approach to Business Network integration t...Wed, 11 May 2011 18:57:01 GMTSAPinsider Mobile App: We Practice What You Preachhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAPinsider-Mobile-App-We-Practice-What-You-Preach
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs Enterprise mobility is changing a lot of industries, including the publishing and information delivery industry. This week, SAPinsider releases its first-ever mobile app, the SAPinsider app for the iPad and iPhone, available now in the iTunes store for free download. Since the IT audience always wants to hear about the new features first, I&rsquo;ll give you those right up front. With the new SAPinsider app, users can: Review complete digital issues of SAPinsider magazine Read text-formatted articles designed for maximum mobile readability Download articles for offline reading Search the full text of available issues Bookmark favorite articles Share articles with colleagues As you can tell, the team that put this app together really did their homework. (And for the Android users out there, we&rsquo;re working on that next.) But make no mistake, this is not just an innovative step for our magazine in how we deliver content to you. It&rsquo;s a reflectio...Wed, 11 May 2011 14:23:43 GMTEnterprise Mobility Exchange - Brusselshttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Enterprise-Mobility-Exchange-Brussels
I have the honor of being able to chair the Enterprise Mobility Exchange conference this week in Brussels. I took this photo last evening from my hotel window. I have stayed in worse places. Here are some of the speakers that I look forward to hearing this week: Glenn Morgan, Head of Service Transformation, British Airways Divya Mahajan, Director Architect for Enterprise Integration and SOA, Philips International Simon Skeet, Retail and Logistics Manager - Groceries Online, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Nick Capell, CIO/IT Director, Parcelforce Worldwide Jan Kampfer, European Product Marketing Manager, Panasonic Toughbook Nicholas McQuire, Research Director, Enterprise Mobility EMEA, IDC Research I interview a lot of brilliant enterprise mobility experts that work for vendors, but this event is mostly end users sharing their real world experiences. I expect it to be very interesting. There are over 40 sponsors here, but some we discuss regularly are SAP, Syclo, ClickSoftware, Sky Techno...Mon, 09 May 2011 17:32:12 GMTWhat is business process decomposition?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/What-is-business-process-decomposition
Plenty of people use the business process hierarchy (BPH) in SAP Solution Manager, but sometimes they jump in before proper planning. There's all this terminology in the BPH -- scenario, process, step, etc. -- but if everyone is on a different page as it relates to these terms, there's going to be chaos in the system. That's what D. Russell Sloan explains in his latest Solution Manager Expert article, "How SAP Solution Manager Can Lead Your Company to Business Process Excellence." He shows that the key to avoiding such chaos is by perfecting business process decomposition. Russell describes this as: ...a process by which a business is broken down into successively more specific business activities. It facilitates designing business solutions based on modular business functions that can be combined to provide value to the enterprise and its customers, while also meeting regulatory requirements. He defines the important terminology early in the article before moving on to explaining...Mon, 09 May 2011 14:52:21 GMTPodcast and Live Q&A Forum: SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Podcast-and-Live-QA-Forum-SAP-BusinessObjects-Planning-and-Consolidation
SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation has been a topic that seems to be gaining more and more momentum at a lot of organizations. Last week, I had the opportunity to have a short call with Scott Cairncross of TruQua Enterprises, who is one of the speakers at our SAP BusinessObjects BPC seminar and an expert on the tool. Scott outlined for me some of the key differences between BPC and SAP NetWeaver BW functionality for integrated planning, and provided some great advice for those who are just getting started. If you are evaluating BPC or have questions about your BPC implementation options, make sure you check out the below podcast. In addition, make sure and register for Scott&rsquo;s live Q&A that is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, 12:30pm - 1:30pm EST on Insider Learning Network. REGISTER TODAY! -AllisonMon, 09 May 2011 13:39:12 GMTA BW 7.3 Upgrade this Summer?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/A-BW-7-dot-3-Upgrade-this-Summer
By Dr. Berg I know there are rumors that SAP will delay the 7.3 release of BW that is planned for May 30th, 2011. That would be a shame. Why consider BW 7.3? The much awaited 7.2 release was cancelled in February 2010 and the user community has been waiting on 7.3 for a long time. Never mind that it was tested for one year in beta and has now been in ramp-up for over six month. The real reason why it would be a shame is that this is the release that should bring SAP up to par with Oracle Fusion and other competitors. Specifically, in the 7.3 release issues such as slow 'activation' and data load are addressed (30-40% faster) and new performance monitor screens for databases, data loads and query performance is much needed. In the prior release (7.0) this information is buried in transactions that only expert would know. In addition 7.3 has a pile of wizards for tasks such as installs, upgrades, partitioning, connection configurations and much more. This makes the life of the basis...Sun, 08 May 2011 03:27:08 GMTYosh Eisbart of NIMBL Provides Advice on Selecting an SAP Implementation Partnerhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/May/Yosh-Eisbart-Of-NIMBL-Provides-Advice-On-Selecting-An-SAP-Implementation-Partner
Listen in as Yosh Eisbart, co-founder of NIMBL, provides tips on interviewing SAP implementation firms, including the growing trend of “bulldog” oversight for SAP projects.Fri, 06 May 2011 12:27:00 GMTPodcast: SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Podcasts/2011/May/Podcast-SAP-BusinessObjects-Planning-And-Consolidation
Scott Cairncross of TruQua Enterprises talks about SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation.Thu, 05 May 2011 19:48:38 GMTSAP announces application management improvements in Solution Manager 7.1http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/SAP-announces-application-management-improvements-in-Solution-Manager-7-dot-1
SAP today announced some enhancements coming in SAP Solution Manager 7.1, soon to enter Ramp-Up and expected for General Availability in August. Let's go straight to their press release . SAP AG will open up enterprise application management beyond SAP&reg; solutions with the 7.1 release of SAP&reg; Solution Manager , its premier application management solution. The first major update in more than four years will make the tool a one-stop shop for total application life-cycle management by offering control mechanisms for both SAP and non-SAP environments. [...] SAP Solution Manager 7.1 will offer companies one management platform for their entire portfolio of SAP solutions, cutting through the complexities of a multi-vendor technology stack. Management tools for designing, graphical blueprinting, testing, configuring, deploying, monitoring and operating will integrate into the platform with oversight over SAP and non-SAP technologies. It will remove the need for customers to buy sep...Thu, 05 May 2011 14:34:24 GMTIs Crowdsourcing Innovation Purely a Numbers Game?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Is-Crowdsourcing-Innovation-Purely-a-Numbers-Game
By Dave Hannon @Daveatwispubs I&rsquo;ve been reading (and writing) a lot about harnessing the power of the &ldquo;crowd&rdquo; to drive innovation lately&mdash; it&rsquo;s a topic that has my curiosity for a few reasons. SAP has certainly embraced the concept of finding innovation in the broader &ldquo;ecosystem&rdquo; as Steve Graham points out in this recent article in SAPinsider . I also recently came across InnoCentive , an online innovation &ldquo;marketplace&rdquo; (I know, I loathe that term too) where innovation challenges are posted by seekers and solvers suggest ideas and the winners are paid. And while I shouldn&rsquo;t be surprised, I learned SAP is in fact a supporter of InnoCentive, at least as far back as TechEd 2008, as my astute colleague Davin Wilfred covered here (yeah, I spend a lot of time playing catch-up around here). Clearly, crowdsourcing is now an accepted business innovation strategy. Businesses really believe the next great idea or improvement to their...Thu, 05 May 2011 14:04:50 GMTBOBJ Analysis is here - is BEx Dead yet?http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/BOBJ-Analysis-is-here-is-BEx-Dead-yet
By Dr. Berg Is "Voyager"-Wed, 04 May 2011 22:03:54 GMTPodcast: Ginger Gatling on what's new with SAP BusinessObjects Data Migrationhttp://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Blogs/2011/May/Podcast-Ginger-Gatling-on-whats-new-with-SAP-BusinessObjects-Data-Migration
Any upgrade or migration project inevitably faces data issues. Whether you're going from SAP to SAP, or legacy systems are involved, data inconsistencies can lead to inaccurate and potentially disruptive data, which can undermine the purpose of the upgrade in the first place. SAP has new technology -- SAP BusinessObjects Data Migration -- that is working on addressing such issues for customers. I learned a bit about this at our IT conference in March, and spoke with Ginger Gatling, solution manager of enterprise information management with SAP Labs, about putting together an article about it for SAP Professional Journal . We're still working on the final tweaks to the article, but until then, listen to this podcast we recorded to introduce you to the solution. Ginger has a great wealth of knowledge on this and other topics -- to keep up with her, follow her on Twitter at @GingerGatling .Wed, 04 May 2011 18:04:02 GMTScrapping Budgets the New Best Practice for Finance Organizations?